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DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. – One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, especially when it comes to the Air Force Repair Enhancement Program. When the 436th Logistics Readiness Squadron identifies a broken stock item, it’s sent to a designated team within the 436th Maintenance Squadron, who have a plethora of repair capabilities.
The purpose of the AFREP team is to cost-effectively repair broken items identified by the 436th LRS so they don’t have to be discarded, saving the Air Force money.
Originally called the Gold Flag program in the 1990s, the name was later changed to AFREP to reflect its mission – repair.
The five-person AFREP team has a wide range of capabilities to repair systems and resolve issues across the base, ranging from testing equipment to aircraft comfort pallets.
AFREP receives non-serviceable or broken items that are issued at no cost from the 436th LRS. The team repairs and sells them back to be placed back into the supply system, explained Tech. Sgt. Chandler Boynton, 436th MXS AFREP section chief.
“Supply [436th LRS] gives us quite a few parts that, right off the bat, we’ll take a look at them and we have an idea of whether we can fix them or not,” said Boynton. “If we cannot fix it, then it would go the route that it was going to go anyway.”
In light of supporting most operations on base, supporting the C-5M Super Galaxy is the primary mission of AFREP, which is critical when it comes to keeping the C-5M in mission-ready status to support rapid global mobility.
As the C-5M is no longer under any repair contracts, once a part breaks, it’s hard to find replacement parts because they are no longer being manufactured.
With AFREP, the 436th LRS will send in the broken part, and the AFREP team will repair and refurbish it, if possible. Then, it’s sold back to the 436th LRS in exchange for credits, which are used to make purchases for the 436th Mission Generation Group. In 2024, their collective efforts saved about $1.9 million for the MGG by preventing parts from going to waste.
While the AFREP program isn’t mandatory, it has proven itself by continuing to save funds and is growing in popularity as airlift wings adopt it into their mission. The personnel on the team are made up of Airmen and civilians, with backgrounds in maintenance, like Senior Airman Carter Garbe, 436th MXS AFREP technician.
“The value this position holds for me is honestly priceless,” said Garbe. “The wealth of knowledge I have gained from only being here for six months is mind-blowing to me.”
The 436th Airlift Wing is currently working with the 166th Airlift Wing and the 439th Airlift Wing, implementing AFREP into their maintenance squadrons. Delaware Air National Guard and Reserve Airmen come to Dover AFB to experience how the shop works and how to build the program at their respective bases.
The AFREP team works to keep Dover AFB up and running, so the aircraft and the squadrons can all do their part to keep the mission going to deliver!
To reach them, their number is (302) 677-5666, and to send inquiries, their inbox is 436mxs.afrep.org@us.af.mil.
| Date Taken: | 08.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.06.2025 13:58 |
| Story ID: | 544917 |
| Location: | DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, DELAWARE, US |
| Web Views: | 15 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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