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News | March 8, 2017

AF, Army collaboration enhances supply operations

By 1st Lt. Mahalia Frost 633rd Air Base Wing Public Affairs

The 733rd Logistics Readiness Squadron worked with supply specialists assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) during a week-long training Feb. 27 through March 3 to showcase the Air Force’s supply management processes.

Soldiers shadowed Airmen within the three warehouses at Langley Air Force Base during the training. The service members discussed the different ways Airmen store and keep inventory of individual protective equipment and how the processes of storing hazardous material differs from storing other materials.   

Not only did service members discuss the Air Force’s processes, but they also went over Army procedures. 

For U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Marco Perez, 733rd LRS asset management section chief, the purpose of the training, which was specially designed for the 733rd LRS, was to ensure tactics, techniques and procedures were communicated and understood by all.

“Each [Soldier] got to see a different perspective,” Perez said. “Our systems interface with the same Department of Defense system, and our technical procedures for the most part are the same.”

While the service’s share similarities in procedures and communication, their scope of specialties differs. 

Soldiers within logistics are assigned to a Military Occupational Specialty, which allows them to become an expert in more areas within supply, whereas Airmen are assigned to a specific Air Force Specialty Codes for a particular skill.  

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Roberts, 733rd LRS mobility readiness spares package NCO in charge, who assisted in training the Soldiers, said he learned a lot from working alongside the Soldiers and plans on sharing his insight with his unit. 

“What I learned from them is how to be flexible,” Roberts said. “We’re so focused on a particular job skill that it’s sometimes a hard transition to go into another section. With [Soldiers] they expect it; it’s almost standard.”

For U.S. Army Spc. Jena Garcia, 119th Inland Cargo Transfer Company, 11th Transportation Battalion, 7th TB(X) motor pool clerk, her experiences within supply have been a little different from the Airmen who assisted in the training. 

With less than three years of service, Garcia started her career as a warehousemen and recently moved to the Army’s motor pool. Her day-to-day operations include dispatching vehicles, commuting to Fort Eustis to pick-up vehicle parts or supplies and processing parts. This training provided her the opportunity to learn more about other service’s logistics procedures.  

“I enjoyed it a lot,” Garcia aid. “I got to learn more than what I knew with just the Army supply.” 

Despite the differences in uniform and agencies each unit supports, both Air Force and Army logistics are fundamentally the same, which made communication between the service members seamless. Through cohesive collaboration, these units are able to use the training as a way to provide the necessary support to accomplish the JBLE mission. 


Editor's note: The original story can be viewed on the Joint Base Langley-Eustis website.