Logisticians provide vehicles, licenses to wing for mission completion

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Mike Tryon
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs
F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  Every job requires the right tools for mission completion, and for many assigned to the 90th Missile Wing, the tool needed is a government vehicle or a government driver's license.

Members of the 90th Logistics Readiness Squadron Vehicle Operator Section are responsible for vehicle maintenance and issuing government driver's licenses. Their mission is to aid in providing preeminent combat capability across the spectrum of conflict by supplying the base populace with an efficient and economical means of transportation for personnel and Air Force assets in accordance with Air Force Instruction 24-301, Vehicle Operations.

"What that means is we provide those needing vehicles the licenses and vehicles needed to complete their mission," said Suzanne Barto, 90th LRS Deployment and Distribution flight chief.

Those needing government driver's licenses first need to coordinate with their units' vehicle control officer, to schedule training for vehicles that require training.

According to 20th Air Force Instruction 91-1, Vehicle Safety for 20th Air Force Missile Field Operations, for mission-related dispatches, no operator or front-seat passenger will operate a vehicle in the missile field complex until they have completed Driver's Safety, Vehicle Orientation and Operation, Vehicle Crew Concept, SkidCar, Gravel Road and Route Familiarization training courses. Furthermore, individuals younger than 24 dispatching to the missile field complex will receive annual skid and gravel road training.

"This is done throughout all 20th Air Force bases," said Troy Weaver, 90th Missile Wing Traffic Safety manager. "Our members do a lot of driving on unimproved roads, and these courses help prevent accidents in the missile field."

After the training is completed the trainee is required to document it on an Air Force Form 171 which requires signatures by the member, the VCO and the vehicle trainer, Barto said. Members need to take this form as well as their civilian driver's license, military identification card and any required Occupational Safety and Health Administration training dates to Bldg. 1270 to obtain a government drivers license. Civilian employees will also need to bring their Occupational Form 345, Occupational Fitness Assessment, with them.

Not everybody assigned to the 90th Missile Wing is authorized a government license.

"Only those who have a mission requiring the use of a government vehicle are authorized to obtain a license," Barto said. "Your career field and mission will dictate the need for a license and which vehicles you'll need to be trained on.

"For example, our vehicle operations personnel transport military assets and personnel which requires them to have bus, tractor-trailer combination, forklift and wrecker vehicles, as a minimum, on their licenses ," Barto added. "The only government vehicles you are authorized to drive without a government driver's license are vehicles with a gross-vehicle weight less than 10,000 pounds, non-four-wheel-drive vehicles and those that carry less than 11 passengers."

Due to the unique mission of 20th Air Force, there are additional safety requirements Airmen are required to adhere to if they are to drive in the missile field prior to obtaining a government license.

For more information about obtaining a government vehicle license or about government vehicle usage, one can call the Operator Records & Licensing office personnel at 773-3257.