Photo By Staff Sgt. Ashley Mikaio | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Joseph Perez-Mendez, 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness...... read more read more
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ALI AL SALEM AIR BASE, Kuwait–Many times when Airmen are issued gear during a deployment, most don’t think about all the effort and care that goes into the equipment that could save them from life-threatening injuries.
Thankfully there are Airmen at the 386th Expeditionary Theater Distribution Center here that always have Airmen’s safety at the forefront of their minds.
Airmen from the 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron worked together to transport over 10,000 ballistic plates from the ETDC to Camp Buehring, Kuwait, on Nov. 4, 2022 for reusability testing. Upon successful testing, the plates were transported back to Ali Al Salem Air Base for redistribution to Airmen, joint and coalition forces.
“We can’t put ourselves in a position to issue gear that is not safe for use,” said Airman 1st Class Shaun Robinson, 386th ELRS, ETDC journeyman. “If we had an instance where we had to gear up and some of the plates were unserviceable, somebody could get hurt and that would fall back on us.”
Once the plates are at the testing facility, they use a Non-Destructive Test Equipment (NDTE) to check for physical or structural defects. The NDTE is capable of scanning up to 240 plates in an hour. ETDC leadership stressed this process is a vital step in the safety of our deployed members.
Another facet of ELRS that helps in this process is ground transportation. More than once a month, ETDC and ground transportation come together to transport the plates, drop them off at the testing facility, and return them safely back here. This ensures our members have the protection they need in case of an attack.
“That’s our main mission, delivering cargo from here to other bases,” said Staff Sgt. Joseph Perez-Mendez, 386th ELRS ground transportation operator. “We make sure that they are delivered safely to be tested and once they’re at Ali Al Salem, we deliver them to Cargo City to get shipped to other locations around the AOR. It ensures the protection of our downrange personnel.”
The ELRS Airmen continue to work diligently, ensuring that each plate that leaves their facility will protect our Airmen if the situation arises.
“It’s a big responsibility,” said Robinson. “I do enjoy it because anything contributing to the mission, I'm all about that. It makes me feel like I'm doing good things.”
| Date Taken: | 11.04.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 11.09.2022 07:14 |
| Story ID: | 432946 |
| Location: | KW |
| Web Views: | 202 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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