U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Justin Sims, 366th Air Force Repair Enhancement Program supply journeyman, shows Master Sgt. Frank Espinoza, AFREP manager and Staff Sgt. Thomas Beaudet, AFREP circuit card technician, the Tool Accountability System Aug. 28, 2012, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The TAS is used to log in to the weekly Hazardous materials inspection. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Heather Hayward)
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Thomas Beaudet, 366th Air Force Repair Enhancement Program circuit card technician and Senior Airman Justin Sims, 366th AFREP supply journeyman, assemble a microscope Aug. 28, 2012, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The microscope displays images onto a TV to enable multiple people to view the item, and is mainly used for training purposes. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Heather Hayward)
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Frank Espinoza, 366th Air Force Repair Enhancement Program manager, shows Master Sgt. Steve Bell, 173rd Fighter Wing quality assurance inspector and Senior Master Sgt. Chris Wilcox, Fabrication Element supervisor, one of the parts that they can repair to help save money for the base Aug. 28, 2012, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The program objective is to optimize Air Force resources by increasing the wing-level repair capabilities. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Heather Hayward)
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Frank Espinoza, 366th Air Force Repair Enhancement Program manager, shows personnel from the 173rd Fighter Wing, Oregon Air National Guard one of the computer systems used by the AFREP shop Aug. 28, 2012, at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. AFREP enables the repair of certain items if the repair of the item is cost effective without risk to mission performance. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Heather Hayward)
by Airman 1st Class Heather Hayward
366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
9/21/2012 - MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho -- With Air Force units experiencing budget and manning cuts, saving money wherever possible is crucial to mission success. The Air Force Repair Enhancement Program earned a remarkable amount of money for the base and helped Army and Air National Guard units save money by repairing parts that would otherwise be thrown away.
"Our AFREP facility earned an impressive $1.2 million this fiscal year in credits that were reinvested throughout the maintenance group to fund temporary duties, aircraft shelter repairs and revamp the Maintenance Training Flight," said Master Sgt. Frank Espinoza, 366th AFREP manager. "The flexibility AFREP provides is something everyone is looking to implement."
The program objective is to optimize Air Force resources by increasing the wing-level repair capabilities.
"AFREP saves Air Force resources and American tax dollars by repairing items no longer available through normal supply channels, no longer made, or to be thrown away," said Espinoza. "It's important in today's economic hard times with the budget restraints to give commanders more options in everyday decisions."
AFREP enables the repair of certain items if the repair of the item is cost effective without risk to mission performance.
"The difference between the active duty AFREP and the ANG program is that we don't have a full-time funded section that can actually manage the programs, so it's everybody's extra duties in the shop," said Master Sgt. Steve Bell, 173rd Fighter Wing quality assurance inspector. "We have to try to manage AFREP on the side, so it's not our primary focus, but it's a big focus for the guard."
The MHAFB AFREP shop has helped units from Arkansas, Colorado, Texas, Idaho and Oregon.
"We're already light years ahead of where we were at just by the information they've given us, so we really appreciate their help," said Bell.
