Fit for duty: Wing personnel test new technology

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Sherri Savant
  • 917th Wing Public Affairs
Barksdale AFB, La. --  Out with the old, and in with the new. It’s the hope of many Reserve B-52 aircrew members to do just that when bulky, noise-canceling headsets are replaced with lightweight, custom-molded earpieces. 

Recently approved for use in various fighter aircraft by Air Combat Command and given the “go” by Lt. Gen. John Bradley, commander, Air Force Reserve Command , the earpieces are now being introduced to the bomber world. 

Nearly 30 members of the 917th Wing, B-52/A-10 aircrew and maintenance, were recently fitted for the new technology—marking a “first” for the bomber and A-10 communities. 

This voluntary “fitting” is no first for members of the 93rd Bomb Squadron, however, as they led the way in the test and implementation of noise-canceling headsets just prior to Sept. 11, 2001. 

“When we deployed to the island the first time (after 9/11), our whole unit showed up for Operation Enduring Freedom with noise-canceling headsets,” said Lt. Col. Chris Rounds, 917th Standardization/Evaluation B-52 branch chief. . “The demands of flying 16-hour combat missions prompted our active-duty counterparts to follow suit.”
The earpiece is just another “evolution,” he said. “We’re just trying to use technology to our advantage.” 

Future development at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is to incorporate noise-canceling capability in the earpieces. 

The cost to manufacture the custom-fitted earpieces and associated wiring harnesses is approximately $300 per person. The benefits are: enhanced radio fidelity, increased situational awareness, and reduced potential hearing loss. 

“You may have three or four different radios going at once, and you can’t afford to miss a call during combat,” Colonel Rounds said. “With Reserve aircrews spending more years in the cockpit now , it is important to preserve our hearing as best we can.” 

“The initial fitting was a little uncomfortable, weird, actually, but relatively painless,” said Lt. Col. Bob Nordberg, 93rd Bomb Squadron B-52 chief pilot. “The main advantages will be active noise reduction, lower overall volume settings, and the ability to use one volume setting for helmet and headset. The long-term advantage, of course, will be reduced hearing loss for our aircrew.” 

Personnel from the research laboratory will return this month to collect noise data in the B-52 and A-10 aircraft to get a better idea of how many decibels aircrew members are exposed to during ground and in-flight operations. Ground maintenance personnel from the 917th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron jet engine shop are also participating in the test of these earpieces. 

Colonel Rounds hopes to have aircrew and ground personnel (who volunteer), interested reserve and active duty alike, fitted by June. Those who choose not to, can stay with their old helmet, headset style, he said, but adds that “any benefit we can gain from these custom earpieces will be great.”