Maintenance: the backbone of the Air Force

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jeff Walston
  • 917 Wing Public Affairs Office
Barksdale Air Force Base, La. --  When breaking down the U. S. Air Force into parts as they would relate to human body, the maintenance community would no doubt be the back bone.

It supports the body, and without it, the body would soon cease to respond productively to the commands from the brain.

Members of the maintenance community of the 917 Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., reinforced this analogy by their performance at Mac Dill AFB, Fla., during a training exercise called Patriot Everglades, from approximately March 26 through April 9, 2010.

The 917th Wing supplied over 100 Airmen to the evolution, including pilots, and aircraft from the 47th Fighter Squadron, as well as Airmen from 917th Operations Group, 917th Maintenance Group, 717th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 917th Munitions Squadron, life support and administrative support personnel.

The actual training evolutions took place at Avon Park, a bombing range between Tampa and Miami, Fla.

The purpose of Patriot Everglades was to train Joint Terminal Attack Controllers or JTACs as they are commonly known in combat circles. These Airmen are considered throughout the U.S. military as the experts in air-to-ground operations.

This type of training is held several times a year at different locations across the United States to assist JTACs in maintain their expertise in the field.

From beginning to end the training for these special operations Airmen is intense. They must be ready at all times to be embedded with Army and Special Forces units and live as their counterparts do in the field.

Training for Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) operations was also conducted during Patriot Everglades.

Patriot Everglades was not only a benefit to the Special Forces Airmen preparing to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, but to the 917th Airmen who provided the support for the training evolutions.

"Our (Airmen) are operating out of their own environment, improvising, adapting and thinking on their feet," said Chief Master Sgt. Robert Murray, 917th Maintenance Squadron, superintendent. "Some of these guys are being thrown into positions outside their career fields. From a leadership standpoint, it's good to see how they operate under those circumstances."

To keep operations moving smoothly, maintenance personnel worked three overlapping shifts during a work day of two-weeks of Patriot Everglades. The first shift was responsible for setting up operations for the day about getting the first sorties in the air and recovered. The second shift covered the second round of daily sorties and prepared for the next day while a third mid-shift consisted mainly of administration and refueling personnel.

Although the role of the 917th Wing was to support the JTAC training, the benefits to the 47th FS pilots, and wing maintenance personnel, who participated in Patriot Everglades is undisputable. Pilots were able to maintain their flying requirements and maintenance personnel experienced doing their jobs in a deployed location.

For the maintenance squadron its importance is unquestionable.

"As we ready (ourselves) to change to a combat coded unit, we must take every opportunity to look at shortfalls or changes needed to be incorporated for the challenge of upcoming deployments," said Maj. J. A. Clamon, 717th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, maintenance operations officer.

"Although (this deployment) has given (us) a break from home base, we have a job to do. If we don't have the parts, we scramble to get them from home station," the Major said.

Parts or items needed to be replace or repaired by maintenance personnel are shipped from home station as quickly as possible. If an aircraft is out of commission a spare aircraft, which was brought along specifically for this purpose, is used until the repairs are made.

While pilots may be the right hand and maybe a logistics squadron the left, without a back bone to protect the nervous system the parts of body won't work together as planned. Without professional dedicated maintenance personnel to keep the planes in the air, the Air Force mission just doesn't get done.

For 917th Wing Maintenance Group personnel there is but one job ... keep em' flying.

"If it breaks, we fix it," Maj. Clamon said. "We'll fix anything we need to, and we'll stay until it's done."