Photo By Airman 1st Class Chelsea Arana | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Shawn Powers, 9th Maintenance Air Force Repair Enhancement...... read more read more
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BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The Air Force Repair Enhancement Program (AFREP) is a program any base Air Force-wide can implement to repair broken equipment, often at a fraction of what it would cost to replace the entire item. Beale AFB enhances operational readiness through this program, creating a competitive advantage over adversaries.
To become an AFREP technician, Airmen must be interviewed and selected. It is a shop made up of outstanding maintainers who have the capabilities to intuitively repair anything that comes to their workstation.
When an aircraft part becomes unserviceable and avionics maintainers are unable to repair it the traditional way, it will often be sent back to the depot where that part can get scrapped or possibly fixed. This process can take an undefined amount of time, delaying the readiness of the aircraft. That’s where AFREP comes in and facilitates this process. Technicians learn to make very specific repairs for each part, to avoid sending it out and investing more resources than necessary.
“A part will come into our office. We'll look it over, figure out what's wrong, fix it, and test it out,” said Tech. Sgt. Adam Barnett, 9th Maintenance Group AFREP manager. "Once the part is serviceable, it will go back into the supply system and be issued against the broken aircraft."
At Beale, AFREP technicians come across many projects that involve aircraft parts. However, just because a part is broken, doesn’t necessarily mean that it should be repaired by AFREP. Technicians are aided with a mathematical formula to assess the viability of repairing certain systems, but ultimately, they have to make a call as to whether or not a part is practical to repair and if it serves a critical purpose.
Recently, a T-38 Talon stick grip landed on a technician’s station. The T-38 is an older aircraft type, and many parts are not easily replaced. Although the formula indicated that this particular part might not be a great return on investment, the Airman chose to proceed.
The T-38 stick grip was a part in high-demand throughout the Air Force, and the technician decided it benefited both Beale and the Air Force’s readiness to take this project on. By repairing through AFREP, the part could be returned quickly to the supply system.
“Instead of the Air Force having to pay an outside company to build them and take however long, we saved funds and did it in a much shorter amount of time,” said Barnett.
Beale’s technicians used their expertise to promptly repair their own stick grips, as well as other bases’. Not only did they keep their pilots’ training on track but also other pilots across the Air Force.
AFREP has become an asset at every base it is implemented in by making simple repairs. These technicians save units a significant amount of time and money, one part at a time.
For Fiscal Year 2024, AFREP technicians across the country saved the Air Force $19.26M in new purchases by repairing everyday items for units. They also generated $54.69M in credits by repairing condemned aircraft parts and placing them back in the
supply system.
AFREP is on track to continue to save the Air Force millions of dollars for Fiscal Year 2025 with $2.46M in new purchases and $15.5M worth of parts in the 1st quarter alone.
“It's a really cool program, and it's very big across the Air Force now,” said Barnett. “We're just a very, very small piece of the puzzle.”
Even the smallest of pieces can have a lasting impact on the mission. AFREP keeps Beale, and the Air Force as a whole, always ready.
| Date Taken: | 02.25.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.25.2025 10:50 |
| Story ID: | 491431 |
| Location: | BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 72 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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