86th MUNS - Counting what counts

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tryphena Mayhugh
  • 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  A fighter pilot gears up and is ready to take off to complete a mission. He's pumped and ready to do his part for the Air Force.

As he prepares for departure, word comes down that the munitions needed to complete his mission have corroded and are now unusable. The mission  has now been canceled due to checks not being made to verify if assets were properly stored.

In an effort to prevent such a situation from happening at Ramstein, 34 Airmen from varying jobs within the 86th Munitions Squadron came together for an essential inspection March 16. Formed into six teams, the Airmen joined together to conduct the semi-annual, 100 percent inventory inspection.

Each office has its own set of goals to accomplish that when pieced together provide all the information needed to achieve the 100 percent inventory.

"This is one of those times that the walls really fall down," said 2nd Lt. Niko Ruud, 86th MUNS material flight commander. "Every shop helps participate in the inventory, so whether you work in the accountability, inspection or storage section, we're all working together to make sure this happens."

With approximately $400 million worth of assets, the inventory can seem like a daunting task to accomplish, but the 86th MUNS does not shy away from a job they know needs to be done.

"If we lose accountability here, the Ramstein mission doesn't happen," said Master Sgt. James Nagle, 86th MUNS munitions accountable systems officer. "Without maintaining this stockpile, we would not be able to put anything down range for the warfighters."

Ruud explained how many people don't always understand how [munitions] affects the Ramstein mission, or why there is even a munitions squadron on Ramstein, since they are usually at fighter bases.

"We execute a mission as a hub for U.S. Air Forces in Europe," Ruud said. "We play a critical role here and that's why it's so important we maintain accountability on those assets, to make sure they're stored properly and ready to go when needed."

No matter the job, each Airman has an impact on how the mission is achieved. What may seem like a lot of extra work can be the critical line between failure and success. The 86th MUNS Airmen keep the mission running smoothly by doing their part in the well-oiled machine that is the Air Force.