HILL AFB, Utah -- Gina Hoffman is the supervisory transportation specialist for the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) in Tucson, Arizona. Gina and her twelve-member team operate an efficient Art of the Possible “machine” that receives, packs, and ships parts reclaimed from more than 3,000 stored aircraft, as well as hundreds of line-items of aircraft production special tooling and special test equipment needed by America’s warfighters, the supply system, and defense contractors re-manufacturing vital aircraft parts to keep the fleets flying.
Hoffman came to AMARG after six years of Air Force active duty and two years in the reserve, serving as an air transportation specialist.
“History has always been my strongest interest,” she said.
While stationed in Germany, she was able to delve deeply into the history of WWII and the Holocaust.
"I really enjoyed ‘Band of Brothers’ being there, seeing where it happened,” Hoffman said in reference to the HBO mini-series. "My grandfather was adopted from Poland. I don’t know what happened to his biological family. They were Jewish.”
In her seven years at AMARG, Gina worked her way up from an entry-level job to her current supervisory position.
“I had a lot of help from a lot of people,” Gina said. “A lot of good people believed in me.”
In her off hours, Hoffman spends her time with her three-year-old daughter.
“She’s going to be a strong girl,” she said with a smile. “She’s my wake-up call and my driving force. She’s what keeps me going.”
Asked about her most memorable moment at AMARG (sometimes known as The Boneyard, but more accurately referred to as America’s National Airpower Reservoir), Gina said, “There are so many. Parts, planes, and support for our customers; it’s hard to capture just one. We moved F-16s on shipping decks to Romania, cut sections of a B-52 and a C-135, and moved a whole fuselage of a B-1. We’ve shipped needed parts in C-5s and C-17s; we’ve shipped things overland. My team moves a lot of things to our customers.”
“Words that I live by?” Hoffman paused to think a moment. “L’Chayím. It’s Hebrew, and it means ‘to life.’ I think that encompasses everything you do.”