Aerial porters move pallets

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Patrick Harrower
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  It may be no rare feat for Travis Airmen to move more than 87,000 pounds of cargo in only one day. It may also be commonplace for them to deal with moving approximately $59.7 million worth of goods in a single shift.

However, for a unit with only three people, the Airmen in the Department of Defense Pallets and Nets Distribution Center at Travis are making the mission happen.

"We move an average of 300 aircraft pallets in and out of Travis on a daily basis," said Mark Chabotte, 60th Ariel Port Squadron DOD Pallets and Nets Distribution manager. "That covers pallets moved both by air and on the ground."

The unit provides a healthy stock of serviceable 643L cargo pallets and nets to four stateside bases and 19 overseas bases, to include all Pacific Air Forces.

The pallets may be sent to Marines at Kadena Air Base, Japan, the Defense Logistics Agency for backfill or even to Hawaii for missile range testing, Chabotte said.

"It feels good to see exactly what we are doing here and where they are going," said Senior Airman Richard Hunter, 60th Ariel Port Squadron air transportation specialist.

"Usually in my duties, I build pallets, but here I have a different purpose. I can see we are really making a change."

Through their hard work and dedication the team was recently named the 60th Maintenance Group's Team of the Quarter.