Barksdale Reservists Support Northern Break

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Jeff Walston
  • 307th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
Minot Air For Base, N.D. --  Reservists from the 307th Maintenance Group at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., arrived at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to support NORTHERN BREAK, Aug. 11, 2012.

Many members of the 307th MXG completed their annual training while at Minot. Upon arrival, they were integrated into the various shops and worked together as one team.

Each of about 42 Airmen who deployed from Barksdale spent an average of two weeks training with their Regular Air Force counterparts during the period Aug. 12, through Sept. 7, 2012.

"This support deployment was in response to a request from the Commander of the 5th Bomb Wing, Col. James Dawkins," said Lt. Col. Kenneth Rose, commander, 307th MXG. "The 5th Maintenance Group wanted to partner with us, and we wanted to partner with them. Our intention was to learn and share. We worked in the shops shoulder-to-shoulder with our host technicians and supported the daily business."

The 307 MXG sent only qualified personnel to assist the Airmen at Minot. The areas they supported were armament, electro-environmental, fuel, egress, hydraulic, propulsion, avionics, metals, structural, nondestructive inspection, munitions, air ground equipment and flight controls.

"A lot of people don't fully understand the mechanics of why or how each method or instrument works," said Senior Airman Cassi Heyl, a nondestructive inspection technician assigned to the 307th Maintenance Squadron. "I had the opportunity to share the knowledge my supervisors taught me with the people here."

"There are a lot of things that we do at Barksdale that they don't do here," she said. "When I showed them the way we do it, they were like, 'we didn't know you could do it like that.'"

Barksdale Airmen have set a standard for when they visit other bases, and this deployment was no different.

"The performance of our Airmen here has been stellar," said Senior Master Sgt. David Fogg, armament systems flight chief, 307 MXS. "They are taking great pride in being able to assist their (Regular Air Force) counterparts--they know why they were there, and were willing to do what ever they needed to get the job done."

Though the stay at Minot for the Barksdale Airmen was relatively short, many lessons were learned by both groups as they worked together. Some of those lessons will be taken back to Barksdale.

"During this deployment, the learning opportunities presented themselves naturally for both visitors and hosts, and everyone benefited," Rose added. "Our goal was to provide crosstell, exchange techniques and share best practices from across the B-52 enterprise. I believe we accomplished that goal."