AFREP repairs saves base money

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ashley Williamson
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  From iPads and TVs to KC-135R Stratotanker and F-15E Strike Eagle components, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina's Air Force Repair Enhancement Program repairs a variety of parts and products for the base.

Contributing to a program that began in the mid-90s, the three technicians in the shop mend items deemed broken or cracked and unusable by the base making them viable again instead of having to order new products, saving the base and the Air Force money.

"Any shop, anybody can use us to fix anything," said Tech Sgt. Brandon Rhea, 4th Maintenance Group AFREP manager.

The more products the AFREP team finds and repairs, the more money they save Seymour Johnson AFB. These products include K-9 trailers, generators, gas engine repairs, power supplies, and throttle quadrants.

If something needs repaired from a shop, customers are encouraged to bring the part to the shop, log it and the AFREP team will call when it's ready. Repairs can take anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of days. If an item is too large to bring to the shop, the team will make a "house call" to see the product in question.

In 2015, Seymour Johnson AFB's AFREP team repaired 411 products, saving the base $3.5 million; money that is then spent making improvements around the base.

"We fix anything you can think of," said Tech. Sgt. Darrel Rhodes, 4th MXG AFREP technician. "We get some aircraft parts that we fix here in the shop. Our big thing on the [F-15E] would be our flying holders. They are $26,307.58 and the Air Force has deemed when they get a crack in them to throw them away. We send them to (a regional engineering company) and they do the repairs and charge $2,350 to fix. The difference ($24,000) goes back towards the base."

The money AFREP saves goes toward the base's projects and building renovations, such as overhangs and the fans inside the hangars.

"We fund ourselves, essentially. We pay for any type of school, training and stuff like that that we need to have to be in this position," said Staff Sgt. Malia Ortiz, 4th MXG AFREP technician. "Starting out we had to go to supply and go through their scrounge bins and find stuff that we could repair. We go through the proper process to get codes changed so those parts actually come to us instead of getting thrown away."

Working closely together, almost as a family unit, AFREP is open to everyone on base from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. AFREP also offers training seminars for those who want to learn maintenance and repair skills.

"Anyone has the opportunity to come down here," Ortiz said. "If you enjoy tinkering with stuff and you're eager to learn new things, you can definitely have the opportunity to be down here."