The government rentals

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jason McCasland
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  A single unit here is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the base's fleet of more than 700 vehicles.

The 2nd Logistics Readiness Squadron Vehicle Maintenance Flight takes care of a variety of vehicles, from small, all-terrain vehicles to large, semi tractor trucks.

With customer service, materiel control, allied trade center, refueling maintenance, vehicle management and analysis and the lube rack, the VMF handles all aspects of vehicle maintenance.

"The technicians at 2 LRS VMF strive to maintain a 90 percent mission capable rate." said Staff Sgt. Steven Mason, 2 LRS vehicle management and analysis NCO in charge.

The VMF owns and services all of the vehicles on base from security forces vehicles, emergency response vehicles, cranes, buses, fuel transport trucks and other special purpose vehicles.

"In essence, we are the base dealership," said Mason. "We manage the fleet from the cradle to the grave."

All the different sections of the flight work together in tandem to finish up to 50 or more work orders a week from more than 60 work orders we get each week, said Capt. Cherelle Small, 2 LRS vehicle maintenance flight commander.

This level of cooperation within the flight led to its superior team award for the 2011 compulsory unit inspection and nuclear surety inspection.

Base vehicles transport aircraft maintenance personnel, fuel, parts, security forces, distinguished visitors and support the mission in many more ways.

"If we didn't take care of our vehicles then our planes couldn't get off the ground," said Small.

None of those vehicles can roll without a key part -- tires.

"The tire shop changes out more than 300 tires a year on different vehicles at Barksdale," said Tech. Sgt. Vincent St. Hilaire, 2 LRS VMF tire shop NCO in charge. "By not sending tires to an off base contractor we save over $20,000 a year.".

Another shop that saves Barksdale money is the body shop.

The 2LRS VMF body shop provides corrosion prevention and can completely restore vehicles if the need arises.

"Our body shop handles about 20 different cases of varying damage a year which saves the military about $90,000 a year." said Tech. Sgt. Thomas Reistroffer, 2 LRS VMF body shop NCO in charge. "We are protecting the taxpayers investment; if we didn't fix them they would have to be replaced or repaired on a constant basis.".

The VMF is not just about turning wrenches. The VMF schedules and tracks all upcoming maintenance, performs quality assurance inspections on completed maintenance and readies vehicles used for 32 different units, Reserve units and TDY personnel on base to perform their daily duties.

Without the combined efforts of the different sections within this flight, Barksdale could not complete its mission to fly, fight and win in air, space and cyberspace.