VMA keeps vehicles mission ready

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Benjamin Gonsier
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Five Airmen are responsible for scheduling the maintenance of more than 700 government-owned vehicles here.

The 2nd Logistics Readiness Squadron Vehicle Management and Analysis section ensures Barksdale's vehicles receive the necessary maintenance and inspections required to keep them operational and ready for the mission.

"We take care of the paperwork side of the vehicles which includes renting, leasing, buying and scheduling the maintenance," said Senior Airman Mitchal Anderson, 2 LRS VMA journeyman. "On average, 40 vehicles are scheduled for maintenance per month, and 10 more vehicles come in for unscheduled maintenance."

Every GOV requires some sort of maintenance every 18 months, and VMA ensures these vehicles are scheduled in advance.

"We use a program called On-Line Vehicle Interactive Management System," Anderson said. "OLVIMS is used to track the maintenance log of every vehicle. When using OLVIMS, we check the dates a vehicle is scheduled to receive its maintenance, and make any necessary corrections if it falls on a weekend or holiday."

OLVIMS tracks more than just when a vehicle needs maintenance, it also lists what type of maintenance the GOV is required to have. Oil, tire and filter changes are some of the services GOVs are required to have that shows up on OLVIMS.

VMA works in conjunction with more than 80 vehicle control officers on base to get vehicles in for scheduled maintenance in a timely manner.

"OLVIMS does not send the VCOs a message when their vehicle is due for maintenance, we put the data into an excel format," Anderson said. "Four to five weeks prior to scheduled maintenance, VCOs are sent this document to ensure they have adequate time to get the vehicle in."

VMA is beneficial to every unit's mission by keeping all the VCOs informed of when a GOV is in need of scheduled inspections and maintenance.

"The 2 AMXS has more than 60 vehicles, so having a unit dedicated to keeping track of when a certain vehicle needs to come in is beneficial to our mission," said Staff Sgt. Nicholas Toney, 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron VCO. "VMA ensures we have reliable vehicles capable of transporting tools, equipment and personnel out to the flightline."

Without scheduled maintenance, GOVs would not support Team Barksdale's mission.