The White Falcon - 14.10.1977, Blaðsíða 3

October 14, 1977
White Falcon
Page 3
TECHNICAL SEARGEANT Robert Ayala inspects the bootie
on an anti exposure suit. If used, the suit he is
working on now may keep someone from freezing to death
in the icy northern waters.
COMPETENT STAFFING--is a must to ensure a high quality
safe product. Gudrun Benner sews many of the rubber
and fabric component of the survival equipment used
by the NATO base.
Survival Support
Saving lives
By J01 Bill Heintzelman
Inside, the Survival Support building
at the 57th Fighter Intercept Squadron
is quiet , clean, and spacious. There is
the steady hum of machinery interrupted
only occasionally by a whistle of wind
through the newly constructed parachute
drying tower. It sounds like somebody
practicing a flute.
'We do more than pack
parachutes here.'
Air Force Technical Sergeant Robert
Ayala works here. He is a quiet,
thoughtful, and a thoroghly professional
man. Somehow, it's almost as if the
building was constructed to compliment
him. He knovs his job, and Ayala likes
to talk abou; it.
"We do more than pack parachutes
here," he said softly, "in fact,packing
and testing chutes is only a part of the
job.' Nothing here is taken for granted
or given a lower priority than anything
else. What we’re dealing with is human
life."
Ayala was sitting on the edge of a
long table. Beside him was a parachute.
"This one is in for inspection," he
said. Without saying anything else he
pulled the rip cord. There was a thick
popping sound and the small pilot chute
shot out of the pack. Beneath were wads
of silk, lines, and harness gear. It
looked like a can of worms.
Within seconds, Ayala had the entire
chute spread out on the long table, and
as he went down the length of the chute,
he explained each function carefully.
Then an assistant began the painstaking
job of repacking the 'can of worms'
again.
"How long does that take?" I asked.
"Not long," said Ayala simply, "Maybe
two hours."
'What we're dealing
with is human life.’
And that's only part of it.
"Look at these suits," said Ayala,
holding up a rubberized coverall,
"they're temperature sensative. All of
our pilots wear them in the event they
have to bail out over the ocean. These
suits will help them maintain body
temperature and keep them from freezing
to death. I have to make sure these
suits are in good repair."
In addition to the survival suits and
the parachutes, Ayala is responsible for
life rafts carried in the squadron's
aircraft. He also maintains a stock of
survival kits which are stored with
the parachutes.
Survival Support is not a job for the
unconcerned or un-skilled. It is a
meticulous and demanding job. It
takes a professional to handle the
small, irritating details so often
connected with the work. Above all
it takes patience. The 57th should be
proud of men like Bob Ayala and his crew
crews. They're professional, and as Bob
says, "What we're dealing with is human
life." About all you can add to that
is ... amen.

ALL IN A ROW--waiting for inspection. Every parachute
in use on this base must go through an inspection and
be repacked every 120 days whether it is used or not.
AIRING THE CAN0PY--is one of the first steps taken
when a parachute goes through an inspection.
Technical Sergeant Robert Ayala (right) and Senior
Airman Tom Kovach will spend about two hours on one
chute before it is released.
AFI Supply reorga
nization explained
Editor's note: The AFI Supply
Department recently underwent an
internal reorganization. This is the
fourth in a series of articles written
by AFI supply in an effort to help
their customers better understand the
newly reorganised department.
The Supply Systems Branch is the
smallest yet most vital function within
the AFI Supply Complex. Organized into
four Sections, the 13 people assigned
are responsible for the inventory and
documentation of approximately 23,500
line items; the operation of a quarter-
million dollars of computer equipment,
and the maintenance of all data elements
stored within the computer and used to
identify and procure supplies and
equipment required in support of Air
Forces Iceland.
The Automatic Data Processing
Machines/Punched Card Accounting
Machines Operations Section (ADPM/PCAM)
is supervised by Technical Sergeant
Lawrence Christensen and manned by four
additional military and one civilian
employee. Responsible for the operation
of a UNIVAC 1050-11 real time computer
and support equipment, these individuals
monitor the daily in-line business
of issue, turn-in, requisition, and
shipment actions from seven remote
terminals located throughout the Supply
Complex. Additionally, they provide
key punch support in preparation of card
inputs for through-put processing over
the main card reader. Night time finds
these operators working in an "off-line"
mode to produce reports and listings
based on the day' sbusiness, and used by
supported organizations and "in-house"
functions to reflect the status of
requirements and control the expenditure
of funds. The ADPM/PCAM section is
indeed the backbone and life-line of the
Air Force Base Supply System and a real
"showplace" within the AFI Chief of
Supply Complex.
The phrase "garbage in, garbage out"
and the tale of a maintenance man who
ordered a screwdriver but was issued a
parachute by the computer can and does
happen in mechanized operations. To
Preclude these incidents or at least
Keep them to a bare minimum, the Records
Maintenance Section works diligently to
maintain the validity of stored
information such as Item descriptions,
sources of supply, repair facilities,
unit cost and interchangeability data.
Supervised by Staff Sergeant Cliff
Eppich, this section of three people
screen literally hundreds of stock
lists, catalogs, and technical orders in
an attempt to provide the Supply
customer with the desired item. Weekly
and monthly changes to record data
elements are also screened and processed
by this section to ensure that computer
records are maintained current at all
times with information supplied by the
Air Force Logistics Command and
Department of Defense Supply Agencies.
Although small in number, this section
has a tremendous impact on the success-
ful accomplishment of the Supply
mission.
Occasionally the computer indicates
the availability of an asset which
cannot be found. These rare conditions
are resolved by the Inventory Section.
Technical Sergeant James McDowell,
functioning as a one-man section, has
the responsibility of verifying the
accuracy of recorded balances with the
physical count of all assets. Each item
balance must be verified at least semi-
annually and with more than 23,000 line
items carried within supply it's easy
to see why James is a very busy man.
Much of his duty day is spent
researching historical registers and
source documents in an attempt to
find the human error which created the
"out-of-balance" condition (everyone
knows that computers don't make
mistakes).
The maintenance of the above
mentioned historical registers and the
Quality control and filing of supporting
source documents is the responsibility
of the Document Control Section.
Assisted by one civilian employee,
Technical Sergeant John Dellinger
ensures; that all computer processed
transactions are supported and that all
documents are correctly posted.
Although tedious in nature, the require-
ment for sound accounting procedures and
correct audit trails is an item of
continual interest to inspectors from
higher headquarters and the Regional
Auditors.
This then has been an overview of the
Supply Systems Branch, Master Sergeant
William E. O'Brien, Chief of this branch
states that without the outstanding per-
formance of computer operators TSgt.
Neil Olmsted, SSgt. Larry Kerr, Sgt.
Mark Nelson, PCAM operators Cristina
Brayars and Sgt. Tearthur Watson,
Support Records Technicians AMN Linda
Kerr and Erna Kristinsdottir; and
Documentation Clerk Sigridur
Sigurhansdottir you could in fact order
a screw driver and receive that
parachute.