Logistics meets maintenance at flight service center

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ashley J. Thum
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  With hundreds of personnel accomplishing their mission around the base at any given time, one small but important group - tucked away in the 28th Logistics Readiness Squadron - is seldom noticed.

These Airmen, known as the flight service center, fulfill their behind-the-scenes calling by managing the "due in for maintenance" process.

When Airmen are unable to fix parts, the broken parts are routed through the flight service center before being sent off base for maintenance. They're also responsible for distributing repaired or new items back to their original units.

Senior Airman Horace Bryant, 28th LRS flight service center technician, said his job requires him to have a close relationship with other squadrons.

"We're like the middle man between the flightline and the rest of the base," Bryant explained.

The partnership between the flight service center and the rest of the base doesn't just extend to squadrons who maintain the base's aircraft - they also work with the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron, 28th Communications Squadron and 432nd Attack Squadron.

"We control repair time for broken parts, and facilitate getting them to the right people on base," said Airman 1st Class Dairon Simons, 28th LRS flight service center technician.

In order to maximize the efficiency of both the flight service center and the receiving unit, the seven-Airmen shop uses an intricate storage system and conveyor belts to build kits complete with various items required for installing specific parts.

"The kits include screws and other fasteners an Airman might need to go along with certain equipment," Simons noted. "This cuts down on the amount of time wasted hunting down those accessories."

Bryant added he enjoys working in the DIFM shop because it allows him to travel all over the base and interact with other squadrons.

"We get up close and personal with other shops to accomplish the B-1 mission," Bryant said.