LRS woodshop protects military assets

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Peter Reft
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  When people think of any custom wood-working job the wing requires, the 354th Civil Engineer Squadron or contractors may come to mind.

A dedicated area in the corner of the 354th Logistics Readiness Squadron, however, houses its own woodshop. There, Airmen fabricate custom-fitted containers for transporting specialized parts and equipment.

Before an item is shipped out of Eielson, a team of Airmen from the 354th LRS ensures it is packaged properly, protecting the item during the shipping process.

"If anything from an aircraft comes to us with a special packet instruction, we will either fix the container it came in or build a new one," said Airman 1st Class Paul Bissett, 354th LRS traffic management specialist.

Many times, the items come in shapes and sizes that standard boxes cannot securely contain.

"It must fit perfectly in the container so it doesn't move or break during transport," said Senior Airman Raymond Ramirez, 354th LRS traffic management specialist.

Bissett and Ramirez build crates and containers for valuable assets of all shapes including aircraft parts and electronic equipment.

"The largest items can be aircraft wings or radar equipment," said Bissett. "Sometimes we'll get small items the size of a camera worth $400,000."

The team specializes, however, in making custom containers for ammunition and aircraft parts.

"Most of the items we ship out of here have to do with the aircraft," he added, "Any part that needs repairing will have to be shipped with a specially fitted container."

Ramirez and Bissett were recently tasked with creating block ends for an ammunition barge to protect the explosive contents during storage and shipment.

"Everything that goes into an ammo barge is volatile," said Ramirez. "The end blocks fill in the gaps and prevent the munitions from moving around."

With a job demanding precise attention to detail and the responsibility of managing expensive military assets, Bissett and Ramirez said they enjoy the work they do.

"My favorite part of the job is the woodshop," said Bissett. "even though half our job is processing on computers to make sure things go to the right place. The other half is physical where we get out of the office, work at our own pace and get everything done."