Vehicle licensing ensures Airmen safety

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Daniel Brosam
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  Airmen from the 341st Logistics Readiness Squadron are responsible for supporting vehicle and transportation needs for the wing and its 13,800-square mile missile complex.

The squadron consists of the vehicle operations flight, vehicle management flight, transportation management flight, installation readiness flight and the material management flight, which provides contractor-operated supply and fuels services to enhance the base’s combat readiness.

Two Airmen in the vehicle operations flight operations records and licensing section manage and issue vehicle certifications that Airmen must have to operate vehicles larger than 10,000 pounds.

“The most important part is ensuring anyone operating a vehicle is properly trained,” said Senior Airman Felipe Vilches-Hernandez, 341st LRS licensing and vehicle operator. “We make sure the trainer and the individual seeking certification is trained on specific vehicles.”

Each unit on base has a vehicle control officer who tracks unit vehicle training and submits required paperwork to obtain a military vehicle license for personnel.

Vilches-Hernandez said the process is fairly simple.

VCOs submit the paperwork to licensing where it will be verified. Vilches-Hernandez then uses the online vehicle management system to input personnel information. If everything comes back good, the individual is issued a license to operate a specific type of vehicle.

Some examples of vehicles are tractor-trailers, Humvees, BearCats, dump trucks, payload transporters and even the wrecker truck the 341st LRS uses to retrieve vehicles in the missile field.

All Airmen operating large vehicles are required to obtain training and a license for accountability and to prevent mishaps.

“We want to make sure the person getting behind the vehicle is trained,” Vilches-Hernandez said. “If someone gets behind the wheel and they don’t know how to operate the vehicle, they could potentially injure themselves or others.”

Staff Sgt. Johnathan Scott, 341st LRS NCO in charge of vehicle licensing, said the goal is safety.

“It’s rewarding knowing our efforts are put toward preventing mishaps for everyone,” Scott said. “We want to make sure that the people operating the equipment are trained properly in order to keep the roads safe.”