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Behind a heavy door in a windowless room at Spangdahlem Air Base, a small team of Airmen bend over microscopes, soldering irons in hand, breathing new life into parts most would toss out as junk. Staffed by three Airmen, the 52nd Maintenance Squadron Air Force Repair and Enhance Program shop restores unserviceable or condemned parts from across the base such as aircraft parts, communications equipment and audiovisual equipment that would otherwise be discarded or sent to depot-level maintenance. DLM involves a major overhaul, repair, modification or building of equipment and weapon systems by specialized facilities. The AFREP’s work supports mission readiness by reducing equipment downtime and cost. “We take broken parts no one else can fix and bring them back to life,” said Tech. Sgt. Cody Walling, 52nd MXS AFREP manager. “If it’s mechanical or electrical and it supports the mission, we’ll find a way to make it work again.” AFREP repair capabilities include aircraft electronics, speakers, badge printers, medical deployment gear and audiovisual equipment. “We’ve helped almost every squadron on base in some way,” said Staff Sgt. Nicholas Walters, 52nd MXS AFREP lead technician. “Even if it’s not flightline related, if it supports the mission or helps an Airman, we’re able to assist.” In fiscal year 2025, the Spangdahlem AFREP shop generated $319,000 in revenue and saved an additional $220,000 through cost avoidance. These savings helped fund unit level purchases such as cold weather gear and test equipment, said Walling. Each repair is conducted under strict standards using specialized equipment, including microscopes and micro soldering tools. In many cases, parts are repaired without access to technical orders or data, requiring the team to reverse engineer the item. “There are parts that have no documentation,” said Walters. “We’ll disassemble one just to figure out how it works, so we can fix another. It takes time, but it keeps the part and the mission going.” AFREP’s capabilities extend beyond traditional maintenance. Units across the base, including communications, public affairs, medical and chapel teams rely on AFREP to repair mission essential assets that are otherwise hard to find or costly to replace. “We’re here to support the whole base, maintenance, medical, communications, anyone,” said Walling. “If it helps the mission, we want to help.”
| Date Taken: | 10.31.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 11.17.2025 05:40 |
| Story ID: | 550564 |
| Location: | SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Web Views: | 7 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Saving the mission one solder at a time, by A1C Sydney Franklin, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
