35 LRS: We Move Misawa

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Derek VanHorn
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  Two huge industrial doors slowly grind open each morning, letting in the majority of the light in a dimly-lit warehouse the size of about four football fields. Twelve aged, wooden-carved letters are nailed jaggedly across the back wall's office. They read: We Move Misawa.

In almost every sense - other than moving the actual base itself -- it's true. Nearly every single part or materiel that moves in or out of Misawa passes through the 35th Logistic Readiness Squadron cargo movements section.

"We're essentially your logistics hub for moving all cargo in and out of Misawa," said Master Sgt. Kerri Cairel, 35 LRS section chief of cargo movements. "It's sort of like a post office for larger items."

Cairel is being modest - it's more like the equivalent of taking 10 post offices, mashing them together and injecting growth enhancement steroids. By mid-morning, beeping forklifts, ripping tape, honking horns and the buzz of saws constructing shipping crates resound through the hollow air. One half of the warehouse processes incoming materiel, the other works with outgoing shipments, zipping in and outside as semitrailers come and go, offloading shipments that will be delivered by contracted companies throughout the night.

In all, about 20 members make the warehouse mission happen. They send and receive supplies from across the world, to and from dozens of military bases. At times it can be frenzied, and it has to be with the amount of freight they push, often processing items like aircraft wings and engines, hazardous liquids and believe it or not, live animals.

"Sometimes things get interesting; we actually ship military working dogs," Cairel said. "They're shipped as cargo for a deployment. The dogs have to deploy, too."

That might sound inhumane, but don't be fooled - while the dog is listed as cargo, Cairel's responsibilities are to see that the dog is weighed and has proper manifestation to enter the plane where it will comfortably ride alongside its handler. On the flipside of shipping live items comes the somber but necessary duty of relocating human remains.

"Unfortunately, outbound does have to deal with deceased members," said Tech. Sgt. James Johnson, 35 LRS NCO in charge of receiving. "It happens more than anyone would like to see, so it can be tough at times."

Johnson said that between the two sections of the warehouse, roughly 2,000 items arrive and depart weekly, totaling more than 100,000 items processed each year. Even with such a hefty workload, Johnson said expectations still remain the same.

"If we have one mistake, yeah, the numbers may look great, but that's still one mistake we're unhappy about," he said. "We always want perfection; our goal is to make the transition to the customer as smooth as possible."

Expectedly, aircraft parts dominate the inventory for a fighter wing highlighted by some of the most dynamic aircraft in the world.

"Most of the items we process are aircraft parts, nuts, bolts - anything for our jets" Cairel said, quick to note the benefits of something that might sound mundane. "When someone is waiting on a part and it finally comes in, it's like Christmas morning to them. That's the absolute best part of this job; meeting the customers' needs and getting their shipments on time."

It's no secret why there is an American presence in Japan; the mission of the 35th Fighter Wing is to protect U.S. interests in the Pacific and assist in the defense of Japan with sustained forward presence, worldwide deployable forces, and focused mission support. The role of the 35 LRS in supporting that mission is critical, and as Master Sgt. Gerald Bailey from the aircraft parts store put it, it couldn't happen without them.

"Ninety-five percent of the items we have here at the aircraft parts store are used for our two fighter squadrons," said Bailey, referring to the 13th and 14th Fighter Squadrons. "If we don't meet our deadlines the mission won't happen. We take pride in being a central part of keeping these jets in the air."

The aircraft parts store works in direct conjunction with the LRS supply warehouse, where the receiving section has ordered and delivered more than 100,000 items that reside at the store. Bailey said members of different aircraft maintenance units frequent the parts store daily, sometimes up to 20 times a day to pickup and relay parts for F-16s.

Of the many imperative aspects within logistics, none may be more valuable than the presence of mission support readiness kits. These kits are made for deployments and temporary duty missions and contain full sets of repairs for F-16s at varied theaters across the world. It's partly why the store is open 24/7 and all LRS Airmen must be ready to support operations at a moment's notice.

"Meeting the needs of the mission comes first," said Senior Airman Jarek Pankowski, 35 LRS cargo supply technician. "If there's an aircraft that needs a part, and we're the link that they need to make the fix, we know they can count on us."