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More than five years ago, the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center started Aerial Port Expeditor courses, a program that changed the way loading and unloading operations were conducted throughout the Air Force.
Recently, Kasper Chevalier, a member of the 721st Aerial Port Squadron on Ramstein, became the first Air Force civilian to reach 500 APEX missions. The APEX program allows select air transportation personnel to obtain qualifications similar to aircraft loadmasters, enabling a shorter on the ground time for loadcrews.
According to the USAF Expeditionary Center APEX factsheet, “The Web-based training program teaches future load directors basic fundamentals that will be expanded on during the two weeks of academic training.”
After completion of a Web-based training program, APEX students study areas including operational risk management and safety principles, different loading procedures, calculating cargo center of balance, shoring and restraint required, aircraft roller limitations, aircraft floor limitations, computing aircraft center of balance and aircraft winching. In addition, during the weeks of instruction students spend time familiarizing themselves with the applicable aircraft technical orders.
The factsheet continues: “The third week of instruction is a ‘capstone’ of the students’ training. Students spend a week of hands-on training with their specific weapon system. With training and assistance from their hands-on instructor, the students use the aircraft technical orders and all knowledge gained to work safely through different loading scenarios. Upon completion of week three, students are released back to their unit for 30 days of supervised APEX loading. At the end of 30 days, they are evaluated by the unit APEX load director evaluator. Only after passing their evaluation are the load directors ready to begin their APEX responsibilities.”
Mr. Chevalier, a self-professed jokester from the Netherlands, graduated the loading and unloading courses nearly two years ago after completing both the APEXs class at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., for C-17 Globemaster IIIs and Travis Air Force Base, Calif., for C-5 Galaxies.
Currently, there are nearly 170 certified service-wide aerial port expeditors, but this dual qualification makes Mr. Chevalier unique. He is just one of six APEX civilians dual qualified on both C-17s and C-5s in the Air Force.
Additionally, Ramstein is the only Air Force base in the world that has local nationals perform this duty. Ramstein employs 18 aerial port expeditors, but the rest are a long way away from the 500-mission milestone.
“He reached 500 here because he is always working. He’s a workaholic,” said Staff Sgt. Donald Ray, 721st APS aerial porter and co-worker.
In fact, in the two years working at Ramstein since his APEX certifications, the former Dutch highway patrol officer has not once taken a day off for sick leave. For Mr. Chevalier, arriving at the office everyday is not work, it is a hobby.
“People say reading or golf are their hobbies. I believe those are interests,” he said. “Work is my hobby. I love working. When I first went to APEX class, I just wanted to work.”
At 47, Mr. Chevalier realized he always wanted to work around Air Force airplanes. By this point in his life, he had already traveled and experienced much of the world — he lived in Paris for 10 years, returned to the Netherlands, worked for Dutch Highway patrol for 15 years and decided he wanted to work around the Air Force. So, he and his wife sold their house, took a chance and moved to Ramstein to apply for Air Force civilian jobs.
“Working at Ramstein for the Air Force is the realization of a dream,” he said.
Two years later, Mr. Chevalier knows he has accomplished a lot, but he is not changing one bit.
“Now that I have hit 500, I just take tomorrow as another day,” he said. “I plan to do this job until I retire.”
As a member of ramp services at the 721st APS, Mr. Chevalier and his co-workers are responsible for an average of 70 aircraft a day. This, coupled with his love for working, makes it conceivable for him to one day hit APEX mission number 1,000, but he keeps it all in perspective, remembering he is part of a team to accomplish the mission.
“I am proud that I have done this, but this is a team effort,” he said. “I can’t push 900 pounds by myself. I am proud of my team. Most are 19 or 20 years old, and each day we load millions and millions of pounds of cargo without any serious mishaps. That is the real accomplishment.”
