Photo By Master Sgt. Kayla White | 406th Air Expeditionary Wing members pose for a group photo with reservist augmentees,...... read more read more
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The 406th Air Expeditionary Wing has played and continues to play a pivotal role in the dynamic and evolving environment across Eastern Africa.
Members of the 406th AEW and the 409th Air Expeditionary Group were instrumental to the safe, orderly and responsible withdrawal of U.S. troops from Niger in Summer 2024, after 15 years of security cooperation and shared sacrifice between the U.S. and Nigerian forces.
The 406th AEW has since taken the lead on processing all cargo from the withdrawal and redistributing it to other vital mission sets across the U.S. Air Forces Africa Command area of responsibility and beyond.
“We are looking to inventory, repair, and redistribute more than three hundred vehicles and two thousand mission essential items before the end of Summer 2025,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Paolo Cunada, 406th AEW logistics operations cell chief.
This ambitious undertaking comes in addition to the 406th AEW’s organic responsibility to provide real-time administrative and logistical support to their counterparts at the 449th Air Expeditionary Group at Camp Lemonnier and Chabelley Airfield, Djibouti, as well as at Manda Bay, Kenya.
Senior Master Sgt. Delbert Bullock, 406th AEW vehicle fleet manager and key subject matter expert with more than 32 years of military logistics experience, said the flexibility and support of his team has driven progress so far.
“Our team came together and developed at least nine other possible solutions,” said Bullock. “The best, most time-effective option we identified was to ask the Reserves for some short-term help.”
Bullock and Cunada sent out a call to U.S. Air Force Reserves Command and they answered. A contingent of reservists from five different states augmented the 406th AEW for two weeks as members of Tiger Team, completing their annual training day requirement and critically moving the needle toward mission accomplishment.
“This Total Force effort of my active-duty Airmen, Guardsmen, and reservists has been seamless,” said Cunada. “They are all consummate professionals in their respective specialties, and I could not be happier with the outcome here.”
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Adam Norton, 934th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Air Reserve Station, Minnesota, led his team in identifying more than two thousand pieces of equipment, valued at $13 million. This included four refrigerator units that will go directly to enhancing quality of life for members deployed to Camp Simba at Manda Bay, Kenya.
Tech. Sgt. Brice Thompson, 442nd LRS, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, conducted technical inspections on more than 100 vehicles, enabling Bullock to develop a comprehensive cost assessment for necessary repairs before they can be reintegrated into the fight.
“Offering Reserve Airmen the opportunity to serve their annual tour in Germany to inventory and repair military equipment bound for Africa was a win-win-win situation,” said Lt. Col. Justin Brockhoff, the 406th AEW chief of staff. “These Airmen got to serve in Europe, made significant contributions to the mission by preparing equipment for use by our teams deployed to Djibouti and Kenya, and the additional bandwidth these Reserve Airmen provided enabled our main staff to remain focused on daily operations. Our Reserve teammates had an outsized impact in a short period of time, and it was fantastic having them serve as a part of our team.”
| Date Taken: | 12.27.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.27.2024 06:25 |
| Story ID: | 488348 |
| Location: | RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, DE |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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