934th MOF inactivated

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kimberly Hickey
  • 934th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL AIR RESERVE STATION --  The 934th Maintenance Operations Flight was inactivated during a ceremony here, Sept. 8.

Designated the 934 MOF on October 1, 2002, the flight served the 934th Maintenance Operations Group by conducting its administrative support functions, including monthly scheduling, budgeting, airplane requests, and the culmination and analysis of maintenance data.

"It's a back shop support-type flight, if you're really looking at it," said Chief Master Sgt. Michael P. Rak, 934th Maintenance Group Superintendent.
The inactivation of the MOF is an active duty-driven initiative created by the current shortage of aircraft maintenance officers, said Col. Cam LeBlanc, commander of the 934th Maintenance Operations Group, here. The solution chosen was to eliminate the command billet requirements within the MOF, and have the maintenance group absorb them, he said.

"The mission the MOF performs doesn't change," said LeBlanc. "We don't lose any people, and we don't lose any capability."
No retraining of Airmen will be necessary either, he said.
During its tenure, the MOF contributed to the group's major accomplishments, including the 2012 Maintenance Effectiveness Award.

"They definitely had a lot to do with that, along with the rest of the maintainers in the group," said LeBlanc. "One of the other big accomplishments they had was getting an excellent rating on the Air Force Logistics Compliance Assessment Program. "
"That's a huge feather in the cap," said Rak. "They are very, very stringent in their inspection processes."

The major challenges the MOF faced during its 11-year tenure were related to low-manning.

"A lot of people were doing several jobs," said Rak. "We also had no full-time analysis."
Inactivating the MOF will not change the way the maintenance group does business, said LeBlanc.  As commander, he can exercise the option to staff a section commander to lead the inactivated MOF's personnel, he said.

"The bottom line is, this will be totally transparent, other than us folding the flag," he said. "To the rest of the wing, to Ops, there will be no degradation of the services we provide, because everyone is still here doing their jobs."