The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker AFB, Okla., has established an around-the-clock, one-stop service center to help get replacement parts to customers in the field. A visit of Lt. Gen. Terry Gabreski, Air Force Materiel Command vice commander, to see operations in Southwest Asia last fall prompted establishment of the new service center. She heard from deployed personnel that the difference in time zones meant that calls to the center for help often were being re-routed numerous times before being resolved. Officials say that since March, the center has seen a 70 percent decrease in unconfirmed shipments.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
