My assignment was to prepare the plan, inspect potential repair sites,
work out and integrate the details, and draft a Logistics Plan supplement
to the USAFE and SAC overall logistics support plans to close the gap.
The draft plan would include policy and procedural guidelines and
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP); a list of hands-on maintenance
and supervisory skills relevant to aircraft in the current SAC inventory,
and provide for continuing compatibility of data, tools and procedures
with replacement or programmed weapons and support systems. The
plan would identify committed US civil service technicians and staff by
skill, name and location currently on duty at an AMFEA depot, identify
U S personnel policies which would need adjustment to the anticipated
circumstances and initiate administrative actions to initiate the changes.
>From there, I went on to determine manpower resources by anticipated
skills requirements, identify and set in motion urgent-immediate
procedures to acquire (by standard practices or otherwise) relevant and
current manuals and tech data, general and special hand tools, etc. More,
to plan orientation and training for the program, upgrade skills for
maintenance team workers, crew chiefs, and site and regional
supervisors.
To design a team member notification system, and a procedure for
ongoing liaison with Hqs USAFE (Lindsey Air Base, Weisbaden,
Germany) to acquire opportune air transportation from selected pick-up
points for the Mobile Maintenance Teams and drop-off at forward area
emergency work sites. Put it all together, get staff and command
approval in principle at Nouasseur, take the draft to Weisbaden and get
staff preliminary sign-off by Hqs Air Material Force European Area and
Hqs United States Air Force Europe (USAFE). Following that, to get
the coordination of the Directors of Maintenance and the Commanders
at Burtonwood Air Depot UK and Chatereaux Air Depot France
(Burtonwood and Chatereaux depots' manpower, tools, and other
resources were to be committed to the program, hence their being in the
loop for sign-off.)
With that done, I would integrate and send the package off to Hq SAC,
Offutt AFB, Oklahoma and give them a crack at it.
Along the way, I got with SAC and other intelligence types and checked
the lay of the land from Morocco east to Turkey.