by TECH.SGT. MELANIE CASINEAU
104th Fighter Wing
Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – An Airman from the 104th Logistics Readiness Squadron, 104th Fighter Wing, Barnes Air National Guard Base, recently deployed to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, integrating with the 86th Logistics Readiness Squadron here.
The Airman, also a full-time technician in the travel management office, experienced the way Ramstein processes the large volume of international and local packaging.
This training is not available at 104th Fighter Wing, as the guard base is much smaller and does not ship overseas often.
“We have been processing shipments from other bases making sure that the supplies are delivered properly to the receiving offices on Ramstein,” she said.
Because the amount of packages that come and go at Ramstein is on such a large scale, all the receiving offices are at separate sites. With the small capacity that the 104th Fighter Wing has, the receiving offices are all combined, she said.
The process is the same with active duty and guard when processing packages, but the type of packages that come and go are different, she said. At Ramstein they ship and receive household goods from Airmen retiring or changing base locations; the 104th does not because they are a guard unit.
“I have learned how to process packages at a larger volume and have learned how to work with customs,” she said. She worked and trained with the active duty on all inbound and outbound processing procedures.
At home station, the Airman does the shipment planning for outbound as well as inbound shipments ensuring that the packages are processed correctly and in a timely manner. There are approximately four or five shipments per day from various freight companies and they receive approximately 30 packages per day at the 104th.
She was very happy to have the opportunity to work and train with her active duty counterparts in an environment not available at the 104th Fighter Wing.
