Staff Sgt. Daniel Fournier, 56th Equipment Maintenance Squadron Air Force Repair Enhancement Program technician, checks the continuity of the pins on the fuel master switch Jan. 19 using a multimeter at Luke Air Force Base. Luke AFREP technicians repair a variety of items from wiring harnesses, aircraft electronics, communication cables, headsets, aircraft panels to ground support equipment electronics and more.

With ever-growing budget cuts and dwindling resources, it’s never been more important to save money in today’s Air Force. That’s where the Air Force Repair Enhancement Program Airmen at Luke Air Force Base step in.
AFREP acts as a last stop before broken or damaged parts are sent to the Defense Realization and Marketing Office to be disposed.
“We pick up parts from the Flight Service Center then conduct the research necessary to determine if the part is salvageable or repairable and can be restored to its original function,” said Staff Sgt. Daniel Fournier, 56th Equipment Maintenance Squadron AFREP technician. “If the part is repairable, we fix the item in-house. If it isn’t, we’ll check to see if an agency on base can fix it before we send it off to an outside company to fix the item. If we can’t fix the item using these three options, we will then send the item to DRMO.”
AFREP technicians are skilled and trained to make advanced repairs.
“We have circuit card repair capabilities thanks to the miniature, micro-miniature soldering school down at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base,” said Tech. Sgt. Nathan Errington, 56th EMS AFREP manager. “This repair capability has enhanced the skills of our technicians allowing us to make quality, long-lasting repairs.”
In addition to circuit card repairs, Luke’s AFREP technicians can repair wiring harnesses, aircraft electronics, communication cables, headsets, aircraft panels, ground support equipment electronics, and more.
On average, Luke AFREP technicians save the base $100,000 monthly. In fiscal 2015 alone, AFREP Airmen saved Luke $1.5 million in parts replacement.
“With the money saved, the base was able to fund the air park museum renovation along with new laptops for the maintenance group, which allows the maintainers to view their technical data while working on the aircraft,” Errington said.
While Luke’s AFREP team may be small, their base impact is big.
“Saving money is something everyone should be concerned with, especially in times of budget cuts and cutbacks on personnel,” Fournier said. “The amount of money we save each year through repairs gets put right back into the base. Some of it goes toward cosmetic repairs and some goes to buying more versatile equipment for maintainers, or to whatever area the wing or maintenance group deems necessary.”
For Fournier, being an AFREP technician is priceless.
“This is a very rewarding job,” he said. “Every time I look at the air park or go into an aircraft maintenance unit, I see the results of our hard work. The money we’ve saved has enhanced the look of our base as well as the way our maintainers perform their day-to-day jobs. I love my job and what it has done for Luke.”