Leading the way with supply

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Ashley L. Gardner
  • 480th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Wing
JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. --   
Major operations and events require precise management of supplies and goods. For the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Wing and the 497th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group, the Distributed Common Ground System mission is amplified by the efforts of the 10th Intelligence Support Squadron’s materiel management Airmen also known as supply Airmen.

Supply's core competencies tie into the DCGS mission by supporting the intel Airmen to produce actionable intelligence from data collected by the Air Force's primary intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance weapon system. Working as the repair and receiving center, the 10th ISS supply Airmen: ship, dispose, and accept both serviceable and unserviceable parts in a timely manner. Their efforts allow for the upkeep and employment of global communications to multiple intelligence platforms and sensors, such as the MQ-9 Reaper, RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-1 Predator. 

The seven member team work together to keep everything moving smoothly. Everyone does their part to help with the mission, which includes an NCOIC that manages the shop and ensures everyone abides by Air Force Instruction and Department of Defense regulations. The team compliments each other’s strengths, spanning from administrative tasks to proper disposal.

“Working for intel is so different from traditional supply,” said Staff Sgt. Chanel Licorish, 10th ISS. “From the language, to the regulations, simple everyday procedures, as well as the weapon system, we support it all. It is very interesting to see how different supply can be depending on who you are catering to. This is definitely a fluid career field with a lot of range. I never thought I would be working for an intel squadron while in this career field.”

The supply team assist a variety of organizations for different purposes. Their duties span from suppling facility managers, guard, reserve, and unit deployment manager teams with courtesy storage for their assets, to the cybersecurity team in the removal and disposal of equipment. They are a constant safeguard of material to many different organizations in the DCGS realm.

“The biggest difference is what type of assets we are supplying,” said Senior Airman Aaron Smithson, 10th ISS. “In traditional supply we are managing aircraft parts, rather for the intel community we are managing weapon system assets.”

The 10th ISS supply Airmen are the behind the scenes people that enable the global DCGS mission. They ensure assets that need repair and disposal are shipped to the appropriate places which ensures the avoidance of work stoppage and continued mission readiness. They work hard but they play hard and continue to lead the way with supply.