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Q-West Base Complex' General Support Hub

Courtesy Photo | Darrin Fuoss, Kellogg, Brown and Root maintenance worker, from Rantoul, Ill., stands...... read more read more

QAYYARAH, IRAQ

01.03.2006

Courtesy Story

DVIDS Hub

SGT RACHEL BRUNE 101ST SUSTAINMENT BDE
3 JANUARY 2006

Q-WEST BASE COMPLEX, Iraq -- As the mechanics of the 101st Sustainment Brigade labor to keep Soldiers on the road, these troops are working hard to keep them off the highways of Iraq.

At the General Support Hub, or GS Hub, here, Soldiers and civilian contractors conduct logistics operations, including building about 20 pallets per day for transport by aircraft.

"We're the only hub that is actually flying out [materiel in Iraq] to keep Soldiers off the road," said Sgt. Elsira Wedderburn, 317th Maintenance Company, 71st CSB.

"I can tell you that every four pallets means one trailer and two Soldiers off the road," said 1st Lt. Ryan Wolfe, 305th Quartermaster Company, 71st Corps Support Battalion. Wolfe, from Havre, Mont., is the GS Hub OIC.

Wedderburn, from Philadelphia, Pa., is the retrograde materiel NCOIC. Retrograde materiel consists of any used turn-in items such as tires, tank parts, tracks or gun truck equipment, said Wedderburn.

When cargo arrives, the Hub workers download the pallets from the trailers and determine whether each pallet contains equipment going to a single destination.

If a pallet contains equipment destined for multiple locations, the Soldiers sort the equipment and rebuild the pallets, a process known as "transloading," according to Wedderburn.

In addition to troops from the 317th Maintenance Co., an active-duty unit from Bamberg, Germany, contractors from Kellogg, Brown and Root work alongside Soldiers from 551st Cargo Transfer Company, an active-duty unit from Fort Eustis, Va., and 305th Quartermaster Co., an active-duty unit stationed in Korea.

Each metal Air Force pallet, known as a 463L pallet, must fulfill Air Force height and weight standards and inspection to make sure there is no damage to the pallet or the cargo netting, said Wedderburn.

At the cargo yard, Spc. Isaac P. Managan, 317th Maintenance Co., automated logistics supply specialist from Montgomery, Ala., used a forklift to maneuver pallets off waiting trailers and deliver them to the air pallet construction area.

Managan estimated he drives at least 15 miles each day, just maneuvering pallets.

"I like working out here â?¦ because of the different jobs you can do," said Managan. On the days Wedderburn is absent from the Hub, he steps up to fill her boots.

Spc. Dennis Arnold, 317th Maintenance Co. logistics specialist from Washington, D.C., and Markus Loehnert, KBR warehouse worker from Hinesville, Ga., walked around a cargo net spread out on the ground. Pushing a strap here and pulling a strap there, they inspected the lattice for any irregularities that would cause quality control to reject a pallet at the airfield.

Next to them, a team of three Soldiers winched down a net on a 463L pallet of tires.

"Instead of putting more trucks on the road, we're building pallets so they can go on aircraft," said Pfc. Christopher Field, 551st CTC cargo specialist, of Dixfield, Maine.

With fellow 551st cargo specialists Pfc. Andrew Geesaman, of Waynesboro, Pa., and Pfc. General Walkers, of Richmond, Va., Field pulled the straps tightly and made sure the stacked tires adhered to the Air Force standards.

None of the pallet's contents extended over the edge. The team even inspected the underside of the pallet to make sure it was serviceable.

Although the 551st has been in Iraq since July 24, 2005, the unit arrived at the GS Hub a few weeks ago. Some of the Soldiers build pallets while others operate the forklift and rough terrain cargo handler.

"It's hard work right here," said Field.

"If a convoy comes in at any time, we have to download it," said Spc. Daniel Coleman, 305th Quartermaster Co. multiclass NCOIC, from Clyde, N.C. Some missions leave the same night they arrive, so the Soldiers must download the trailers as soon as the trucks arrive.

When the trailers of pallets arrive, whether from trucks or from the airfield, Coleman and his troops inspect them to make sure each trailer is "pure," or going to the same destination. Sometimes a trailer contains pallets of equipment heading for different destinations.

"We make the trailer pure and send it where it has to go," said Coleman. Each mission might bring in 12 to 15 trailers of materiel of all kinds.

"Everything ordered from south to north " it's coming to me," said Coleman.

Before the pallets leave the yard, they undergo a final inspection for quality assurance and control. Staff Sgt. Kimberly Alexander, 317th Maintenance Co. logistics sergeant, from Pensacola, Fla., is the yard's quality assurance and quality control NCOIC.

Alexander inspects each pallet again for holes, dents or cracks in the pallet itself and to make sure the cargo nets are secure. She ensures the height and weight are correct, or the Air Force won't accept the pallet.

"They'll kick the whole pallet back," said Alexander.

Once Alexander was satisfied a particular pallet was built to standard, she affixed a radiofrequency, or RF, tag to the pallet. The RF tag is a tracking device that, when uploaded to the Hub's server, monitors the pallet's progress via satellite.

"Everyone out here is pretty good about inspecting the pallets prior to them going over [to the airfield]," said Alexander. She added, each Soldier or civilian involved at each step contributes to making sure the pallets meet the standard.

"We enjoy it for the most part," said Alexander. "We've got a good crew down here working."

Once a pallet passes inspection, it waits in the "ready line." The unit transports them on trailers to the Q-West airfield, said Spc. Ariel Arroyo, 305th Quartermaster Co. logistics specialist, from the Bronx, N.Y.

When the Soldiers notify the Air Force 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron that a load has arrived, they set up the scales to weigh and inspect the pallets. Arroyo ensures the Air Force inspects each pallet, the paperwork is properly filled out with the correct address and that all the items are accepted.

There are two days and four flights per week dedicated to flying cargo from the GS Hub, according to Arroyo.

"We try to get as many pallets done every day as we can," said Arroyo. "It's a lot of hard work."

"We have increased production of air cargo pallets by approximately 66 percent since September, when we took over the mission from the 814th Quartermaster Company," said Wolfe. The unit constructs about 140 air cargo pallets per week.