C-130J Parts Store

U.S. Air Force Col. Thomas Gould, 435th Air Base Wing commander, tours the new C-130J Hercules parts store, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, July 14, 2009. The parts store can support up to 20 Mobility Readiness Spares Package(MRSP) pallets, three times more than the older warehouse. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Caleb Pierce)

C-130J Parts Store

Ed Junko, 435th Logistics Readiness Squadron, material maintenance flight chief of operations, shows U.S. Air Force Col. Thomas Gould, 435th Air Base Wing commander, around the new C-130J Hercules parts store, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, July 14, 2009. The parts store offers better support for aircrew and maintainers at Ramstein while saving cost and manpower. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Caleb Pierce)

C-130J Parts Store

U.S. Air Force Col. Thomas Gould, 435th Air Base Wing commander, tours the new C-130J Hercules parts store, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, July 14, 2009. The parts store will be a 24 hour a day, seven days a week operation, allowing maintainers the parts they need when they need them.(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Caleb Pierce)

C-130J Parts Store

U.S. Air Force Col. Thomas Gould, 435th Air Base Wing commander, helps cut the ribbon for the new C-130J Hercules parts store, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, July 14, 2009. The parts store is one of 14 warehouses in the Kaiserslautern Military Community. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Caleb Pierce)

C-130J Parts Store

U.S. Air Force Col. Thomas Gould, 435th Air Base Wing commander, tours the new C-130J Hercules parts store, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, July 14, 2009. The location of the new parts store allows airmen maintaining the C-130J close proximity to the parts they need. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Caleb Pierce)

C-130J Parts Store

U.S. Air Force Col. Thomas Gould, 435th Air Base Wing commander, speaks at the ribbon cutting and opening ceremony of the new C-130J Hercules parts store, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, July 14, 2009. The parts store has capacity for more than 6,000 line items for the C-130 J and up to six propellers. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Caleb Pierce)

New C-130J parts store enhances Ramstein J-model fleet support

Published July 21, 2009
By 86th Logistics Readiness Squadron

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, GERMANY -- Team Ramstein officials officially opened the newly constructed C-130J Aircraft Parts Store here July 14.

Built to provide direct support to Ramstein's newest airframe, the APS is a marked improvement from all previous warehouses operated by the 86th Logistics Readiness Squadron, specifically in the areas of technology and storage space.

"This state of the art warehouse facility will be the backbone of LRS C-130J flightline supply support operations well into the future," said Capt. Eric Wicklund, 86th LRS Material Management Flight commander.

Spearheaded from start to finish by Ed Junko, Chief of Operations for the 86th LRS Material Management Flight, and funded by Air Mobility Command, this $3.3 million military construction project was conceived in 2003, officially broke ground Nov. 13, 2007, and was completed Oct 23, 2008.

Mr. Junko, along with his team of four other local nationals from the flight were directly responsible for all aspects of the project, constantly coordinating with Air Force Material Command, the then 86th Civil Engineer Group, Contracting, LBB, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as well as main and subcontractors to ensure an on-time completion of a building specifically designed to meet the needs of the LRS and its customers.

Consisting of almost 13,000 square feet of warehouse floor space and 4,000 square feet of office space, it doubles the size of the previous parts store.

"The highlight of the facility and what is instantly evident to anyone entering the building is the three-story, twelve thousand square-foot mezzanine," said Captain Wicklund. "It provides six thousand locations to store individual parts."

In addition to the two stories of shelving space, the ground level of the mezzanine provides a roller system capable of storing twenty standard aircraft cargo pallets, as well as open space for the storage over oversized items and propellers.

"Compared to the C-130E parts store also operated by the LRS, this new facility is superior in both technology and customer support," said the flight commander.

Located just two blocks from the dual-bay hanger and in easy walking distance from most of the wing maintenance functions, the facility provides 24/7 customer support to the 86th MXG. Additionally, it can support up to 20 Mobility Readiness Spares Package pallets, versus eight in the old facility, triples the amount of storage space, and allows for 100 percent onsite storage of all J-model parts. It can handle the storage of six propellers versus two, and the entire building is built to both U.S. and E.U. standards.

Ms. Donna Hartmann, the AFMC project engineer for the mezzanine and part of the initial planning of the building had only one word to describe the facility upon seeing it for the first time at the ribbon cutting -- "phenomenal."

Outside of capacity, for Team Ramstein the facility means better support for aircrew and maintainers alike, a cost savings in terms of manpower, time and energy and a state of the art facility already being used as a showcase for future projects Air Force wide.