Got meds? Medical material management’s critical role in the Medical Group
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany – Shelves barren. No scalpels. No needles. No vials of insulin or acetaminophen, not even crutches for sprained ankles.
That is what Spangdahlem Air Base and all of its geographically separated units’ medical facilities would look like without medical material management Airmen.
Instead, the 52nd Medical Group houses shelves, cabinets, drawers, and closets, all full. Any equipment, supplies, or medicine the MDG needs, medical material management supplies.
“Every single item inside the MDG is managed, maintained, and acquired by us,” said Senior Airman Kaleb Wertz, 52nd MDG logistics warehouse technician. “We ensure all the supplies are ready to go, and that nothing is expired or broken.”
Whether it's the daily needs of the 52nd MDG, a deployment,or a crisis response, it's Airmen like Wertz behind the scenes.
He added, “War readiness material is my specific duty, where we quite literally focus on facilitating supplies so that the day they’re needed, all the medical supplies are ready to go to a deployed environment within 72 hours.”
The duty of keeping a well-equipped medical facility doesn’t just rest on those preparing and stocking a warehouse. Biomedical equipment technicians likeSenior Airman Brianna Austin, 52nd MDG BMET,also serve an essential role for the 52nd MDG.
“We do all of the preventative maintenance, repairs, and inspections of all medical machinery and equipment,” she said. “Whereas other agencies often can source help for maintenance and repairs, the MDG’s equipment is so specialized that we have to fix it ourselves. We’re a sort of jack of all trades, and we have to know how to work on anything from defibrillators, to radios, to generators, to x-ray machines.”
When an inspection is due on a refrigeration unit that keeps critical doses of medicine cold, or troubleshooting is needed on a broken two-way radio, or a dental x-ray machine needs to be confirmed safe to use after being shipped, BMETs like Austin answer the call.
When it’s time to pack up the essentials and send crates of supplies to a forward operating base, Airmen like Wertz are ready. When annual flu shots are due, the whole medical logistics warehouse goes into overdrive to make sure it can provide lines of Airmen and families with their immunizations.
The 52nd MDG is constantly moving; floors of busy Airmen ready to help the next patient, all empowered by a small group of outliers who ensure the Wing is ready for anything.
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