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With a backlog of work orders, CE helps get things done

With a backlog of work orders, CE helps get things done

Senior Airman Timothy Lynch and Tech. Sgt. Lee Kassay, 914th Civil Engineering Squadron, Structural Systems Technicians repair one of the door handles inside the base fire department at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, NY on November 20, 2019. The two are part of a CE troop labor team of four Reserve Citizen Airmen placed on orders to help alleviate the backlog of work repair orders affecting the 914th Air Refueling Wing facilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

With a backlog of work orders, CE helps get things done

Senior Airman Timothy Lynch, 914th Civil Engineering Squadron, Structural Systems Technician applies caulking between the metal roof and stucco wall of a building at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, New York on November 26, 2019. Lynch is part of a CE troop labor team of four Reserve Citizen Airmen on orders to help alleviate the backlog of work repair orders affecting the 914th Air Refueling Wing facilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

With a backlog of work orders, CE helps get things done

Tech. Sgt. Stephen Barone, 914th Civil Engineering Squadron, HVAC Craftsman prepares to repair the flush valve in a restroom of one of the buildings at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, New York on November 26,2019. Barone is part of a CE troop labor team of four Reserve Citizen Airmen placed on orders to help alleviate the backlog of work repair orders affecting the 914th Air Refueling Wing facilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

With a backlog of work orders, CE helps get things done

Senior Master Sgt. Guy Travis, 914th Civil Engineering Squadron, Engineering Superintendent prepares to remove burnt out fluorescent light tubes as TSgt. Sgt. Stephen Barone, HVAC Craftsman also from the 914th CES hands him a new bulb at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, New York on November 22, 2019. Both are a part of a four man CE troop labor team of Reserve Citizen Airmen on orders to help alleviate the backlog of work repair orders affecting the 914th Air Refueling Wing facilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

With a backlog of work orders, CE helps get things done

Tech. Sgt. Lee Kassay, and Senior Airman Timothy Lynch, both Structural Systems Technicians from the 914th Civil Engineering Squadron begin to mount TV monitors in the communications building at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, NY on November 22, 2019. The two are part of four man CE troop labor team of Reserve Citizen Airmen on orders to help alleviate the backlog of work repair orders affecting the 914th Air Refueling Wing facilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION, N.Y. --

As any homeowner can tell you, if you don’t take care of needed repairs in a timely manner the little things can add up.

The same statement holds true for an air force base. Four members of the 914th Civil Engineering Squadron were recently put on 120 day orders working in conjunction with base contract employees to help alleviate the back log of work order repairs to many of the base facilities.

Normally, any repair work is handled by a Base Operating Services (BOS) Contractor who have skilled tradesmen to do repair work and smaller construction projects.

So why the back log?

According to Col. Christopher Witter, 914th Mission Support Group commander who is in charge of all support and facilities for the 914th Air Refueling Wing said, the main reason was funding, because of what happened to Tyndall AFB from Hurricane Michael (October 2018) & flooding at Offut AFB (March 2019). 

Nearly $5 billion in the air force budget had to be redirected to rebuild and repair the extensive damage that was caused by those two natural disasters. That left many air force installations short on funding.

“There just wasn’t enough money last year to buy the materials we needed,” said Witter.  “We had the manpower to get it done, but just didn’t have the funds to procure the materials. Now we have the funds, but a limited amount of time. If we plus up the manpower we can get the backlog done in a short amount of time,” explained the colonel.

The 914th Civil Engineering Squadron team helping to eliminate that back log is headed by Senior Master Sgt. Guy Travis, Engineering Superintendent, Tech. Sgt. Stephen Barone, HVAC Craftsman, Tech. Sgt. Lee Kassay, and Senior Airman Timothy Lynch, Structural Systems Technicians.

These individuals bring with them to their job a wealth of knowledge from their civilian employment. Travis, an engineering technician for the Alleghany National Forest; Barone, a firefighter with the Niagara Falls Fire Department; Kassay, a self-employed finishing carpenter; and Lynch, construction laborer.

By having them concentrate on the miscellaneous work orders it frees up the BOS Contractor to perform maintenance and repairs on much larger time consuming work orders.  The reservists have already managed to put a dent in the backlog.

According to Col. Witter, his biggest concern was to get the backlog taken care of quickly.

“It comes down to a quality of life issue. If you’re in a office for four months and the lightbulbs are burnt out or the bathroom down the hall isn’t working, that starts to effect morale, and that’s why I really pushed to get the CE troop labor out here and why the wing commander is completely on board.”

Overtime for the contractors was a consideration, but said Witter “It’s about safety and being able to get it done without creating a situation where we could have an accident from working too many long hours.  CE troop labor is always an option, always a resource we can use.”

The back log is expected to be cleared up by March-April.