100th puts 'A.R.W.' in former 'Cagslist'

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  The Acquisition Reutilization Website is now up and running at RAF Mildenhall via the SharePoint website.

Formerly known as "Cagslist," the aim of the A.R.W. is to reutilize government property. Instead of items going to the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office, servicable assets can be repurposed, said Senior Master Sgt. Sandra Ruiz, 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron superintendent of asset management from Mascoutah, Ill.

"Due to budget restraints and funding cuts, if you have excess of something - such as office supplies or printer cartridges - or you don't want it, instead of throwing it away or getting rid of it, you can find an office that maybe doesn't have as large of a budget and can actually use it," she said.

Not for personal use, the A.R.W. is for government assets only, and available only for use by government workcenters within U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa. When exchanging equipment assets, offices must go through official channels and complete the official paperwork to transfer items from one account to another.

"Anything that's not on an equipment account, such as desks, chairs or a refrigerator, can be posted as 'up for grabs' (without paperwork having to be done)," Ruiz said.

Offices can also post "wanted" notices on the site so other workcenters can contact them if they have the required item.

RAF Mildenhall provided a benchmark for USAFE-AFAFRICA in developing "Cagslist," put together by the 100th Air Refueling Wing's Commander's Action Group in 2012. From there, USAFE-AFAFRICA introduced "Airmen's List," which is expanding to other bases including RAF Lakenheath; Aviano Air Base, Italy; Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany; and Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

RAF Mildenhall renamed its version of this site "A.R.W."

The expanded website allows bases to exchange equipment; the only cost would be postage, although many items - providing they weigh less than 70 pounds and are smaller in size than a footlocker - can be sent via military postal service and free of charge.

Organizations cannot pay shipping costs using their government purchase cards. Instead, they must pay using long-line accounting or a transportation allowance code (available from unit resource advisors).

All items advertised on the A.R.W. must have been originally purchased with a GPC. Items that have been purchased with defense working capital funding schemes - such as night-vision goggles - cannot be posted on the site.

To access the A.R.W., go to SharePoint via a government computer, and look under the 100th Mission Support Group tab, 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Material Management, then 'ARW.'

"Initially, items can be advertised for 60 to 90 days," said 2nd Lt. Jason Argyle, 100th LRS Material Management flight commander from Riverton, Utah.

"We're currently the only base that's up and running with this process - we're at the forefront of this process we're developing," he said.

Examples of items that have been listed on the A.R.W. include a coat rack, calendars, printer cartridges and a desk.

"We're always tweaking the system and looking for different ideas to make it more user-friendly," Ruiz said. "If anyone has any ideas, please let us know. We're encouraging people to use the system, because we're reutilizing government assets and there are many times when you see something that is usable, but is thrown away or given to DRMO, but it still has a usable life and value to it."

For more information, use the "Contact Us" button on the A.R.W. listing, or call Master Sgt. Nestor Panes at DSN 238-2595.