The 1108th TASMG creates the first and last footprint

Photo By Sgt. Kenya Tate | Pictured is a row of shelving in the SSA where large serviceable parts are stored.  

CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT

03.27.2012

Story by Sgt. Kenya Tate 

1108th Theater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance Group

By Staff Sgt. Amber Simpkins and Pfc. Jacqueline Wilson

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - One of the 1108th Theater Aviation Support Maintenance Group’s missions includes the Aviation Supply Support Activity.

Some of items were originally stored at the 1108th TASMG in Gulfport, Miss., and called the Class IX Aviation Contingency Deployment Package. The items were shipped to Camp Doha, Qatar, along with two personnel, to receive and maintain inventory and control over the items at the end of 2002.

The SSA began at Camp Doha, Kuwait, in 2003. The Theater Aviation Warehouse SSA at Camp Doha, Kuwait, was run from a small space in a class IX ground parts warehouse with 15 TASMG personnel and very minimal capabilities. In 2004, the SSA moved to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Some 1108th TASMG personnel were in Kuwait with the 1109th TASMG from Groton, Conn., when the SSA was moved from Camp Doha to Camp Arifjan.

One of the soldiers was Sgt. 1st Class John Pulliam, whom has the distinction of being the only soldier to be at the opening and closing of the SSA. The SSA currently has 12 TASMG personnel and 32 L3 contractors working in the warehouse.

The basic mission of the 1108th TASMG’s SSA is to issue parts to the other aviation SSAs, as well as the TASMG and to process receipts, such as turn-ins. The SSA also processes the serviceable and unserviceable components of National Maintenance Program for the 1108th TASMG.

The NMP program repairs components that are classified as high-demand components in theater. The SSA receives the unserviceable components, the components get repaired in the back shops, and the SSA puts the serviceable components back into stock. Once a unit orders one of the components included in the NMP program, the SSA will take the serviceable component off the shelf and send it to the requesting unit. After receipt of a serviceable component, the requesting unit then sends the unserviceable component to the SSA as a turn-in.

Since October 2011, the 1108th TASMG’s SSA has processed approximately 17,000 total receipts per quarter and approximately 16,000 issues per quarter. The total amount of issues and receipts per quarter averages approximately $700,000,000. The task of running the SSA is quite large, but the process has been improved throughout the years.

There are four TASMGs and an Aviation Depot Maintenance Round-out Unit that deploy in rotation to continue with the mission at Camp Arifjan. Every unit has the same mission, but as Jim Cholas, L3 contractor, says, “Every time a new unit comes in, they make their mark with new changes in the warehouse.”

Jim Cholas has been with the SSA for eight years and he describes the changes as a way to better the facility. In 2004, there was very limited shelving in the SSA, but as time went on each unit found a way to improve the process of storing parts in an organized and cataloged manner.

The SSA will soon merge with the multi-class SSA at Camp Arifjan. The multi-class SSA stocks a variety of different classes of parts. There will no longer be a SSA specific to aviation parts at Camp Arifjan. The 1108th TASMG’s SSA will become one with the multi-class SSA. Pulliam expects the merger to be like “flipping a switch.” The merger between the 1108th TASMG and the multi-class SSA is expected to go very smoothly.

In preparation for the merger with the multi-class SSA, 1108th TASMG personnel are removing shelving and preparing to ship parts to the multi-class SSA. The SSA has played a big role in the 1108th TASMG’s mission in Kuwait, along with other aviation units in theater. The 1108th TASMG’s SSA created a way for aviation units in theater to receive components in a timely manner so that they can continue with their missions. Once the merger with the multi-class SSA is complete, it is not expected to negatively impact the way units in theater receive their aviation parts.

Pulliam said, “The 1108th was here in the beginning to open it and we are here in the end to close it. The 1108th TASMG has run the full circle now and completed the mission with a resounding job well done!"

• Date Taken: 03.27.2012
• Date Posted: 03.28.2012 06:11
• Story ID: 85880
• Location: CAMP ARIFJAN, KW