Transportation keeps Edwards moving forward Published Sept. 14, 2007 By Airman 1st Class Mike Young 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- For Edwards, the transportation division is "where the rubber meets the road." The 95th Civil Engineering Transportation Directorate is responsible for the movement of all cargo, government-owned equipment and deployers associated with Team Edwards. "Nothing moves without transportation," said Murray Westley, civil engineering chief of transportation. The transportation division has many different functions, including cargo and passenger deployment, the deployment control center and the transportation control center. "All of these processes work together to complete the mission," Mr. Westley said. Within these different functions are the transportation representative and the dispatcher. "They are the 'eyes and ears' of the entire operation," Mr. Westley said. "They coordinate all of the shipments everyday." Assisting the transportation representative, the dispatcher remains in constant contact with bus drivers. This ensures the driver knows where to pick up deployers before transporting them to the processing center. "We are responsible for the Airmen from the time we pick them up to when they arrive at the aircraft," Mr. Westley said. Throughout the entire deployment process, the transportation representative and dispatcher work in unison with the unit deployment managers as well as the dispatchers to ensure efficiency. Aside from transporting deployers, the transportation division maintains all special purpose heavy equipment such as loading rigs and fire engines. Transportation also supports the NASA space shuttle landing and most of the aircraft on base. "We have a tremendous amount of real-world activities occurring everyday," said Ellis Wright, traffic management specialist supervisor. The transportation division is composed of 39 civilians who regularly train to maintain job proficiency. Some of this training includes drivers training, load classes, in-check cargo training, cargo manifest training and a material certification course for handling hazardous materials. "This isn't an entry-level job," Mr. Westley said. "All of my people come to me with credentials for their position and are skilled at what they do." From training to transporting, the team ensures delivery requirements are maintained, accounted for and arrive at their destination without incident. "We support the Global War on Terror by moving Airmen and their equipment to the fight," Mr. Westley said. "Transportation is a key aspect of the Air Force mission."