Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory 'fine-tunes' Warren

  • Published
  • By R.J. Oriez
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs
F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  If something can be measured -- anything: length, pressure, temperature, weight, voltage, resistance, torque, airspeed, time, etc, -- somebody on F. E. Warren Air Force Base is measuring it. A lot of the measurements, particularly out in the missile field, need to fall within very strict tolerances. There is very little margin of error.

So, who measures the measurers?

The Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory does.

"We calibrate and maintain all of the test equipment on F. E. Warren Air Force Base and with the Wyoming Air National Guard," said Arlen Gerdes, who does quality assurance for Science Management Resources, the Florida-based contractor that runs the lab.

While the lab is assigned to the 90th Maintenance Operations Squadron, their reach, and support, goes much further.

"There are a lot of misconceptions that they only support the missile maintenance group," said Tech. Sgt. Josiah Townsend, 90th Maintenance Group.

Townsend is the contracting officer representative who works with PMEL, and he lists the 90th Force Support Squadron, 90th Munitions Squadron, 90th Security Forces Group among the lab's customers.

"Anything and everything. Their job is to provide safe, accurate and reliable test measurement and diagnostic equipment to everyone they support," Townsend said. "They even go up to the commissary and calibrate the scales you use to weigh your fruit."
Gerdes sees customers everywhere.

"Everything has a limit, has got a tolerance," Gerdes said. "So we make sure it is working right."

The way Gerdes sees it, if an F. E. Warren organization has gear that needs to be calibrated, "this is where it comes," he said.