AFREP: Best around Published Sept. 21, 2012 By Airman 1st Class Heather Hayward 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs 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.