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JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – A U.S. Air Force staff sergeant and 13 Department of Defense civilians assigned to the 3rd Maintenance Squadron partnered with maintenance Airmen from across the Air Force to deice aircraft during exercise RED FLAG-Alaska 23-1, Oct. 11, 2022.
The team provides 24-hour deicing support to multiple Air Force and DoD airframes on JBER, ensuring mission success by enabling aircraft to take off during adverse weather.
“Our mission here is so critical to the winter season because without our part, jets wouldn’t be able to leave the ground,” said Staff Sgt. Taylor Pace, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the deicing program assigned to the 3d MXS.
Members of the deicing section operate special vehicles while a certified maintainer assigned to the aircraft being de-iced sprays deicing fluid and anti-icing fluid in preparation to launch. Type I deicing fluid is used to remove frost, snow and ice prior to a flight, while Type IV anti-icing fluid is used to delay the accumulation of frost, snow and ice before and after takeoff.
While the deicing section ordinarily works with their fellow 3rd Wing maintainers, during RED FLAG-Alaska, they are teaming up with maintainers from units such as the 22nd Air Maintenance Squadron, McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas; the 317th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas; and even North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) partners to ensure the operability of all participating aircraft.
“De-icing an aircraft is important because when ice forms on the exterior of an aircraft, it changes the aerodynamics and adds weight to the aircraft,” said Capt. Matthew Kelly, a C-130J pilot assigned to the 40th Airlift Squadron at Dyess AFB, Texas. “This could potentially lead to a safety of flight situation because the aircraft won't fly how we expect it to.”
Kelly is one of the many exercise participants who rely on the efforts of maintenance personnel to operate in and overcome the unique environmental challenges in the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex and the Indo-Pacific region.
The JPARC is the Department of Defense’s premier training venue in Alaska, covering more than 77,000 miles integrating all domains–land, air, sea, space and cyberspace. The venue provides a realistic training environment allowing Airmen to train for full spectrum engagements, ranging from individual skills to complex, large-scale joint engagements.
RED FLAG-Alaska utilizes the JPARC to host realistic combat training for U.S. forces, Allies and partners, enabling all involved to exchange tactics, techniques and procedures while improving interoperability. This exercise provides a unique opportunity to integrate various forces into a joint, coalition and multilateral training from simulated forward operating bases.
“I am proud to be a part of this team and I look forward to doing what we do to make the winter successful for everyone,” said Pace.
The 13 civilians assigned to the deicing team are split into three shifts to ensure 24-hour coverage through the entire winter, with their busiest months expected to fall between January and March, far after the end of RED FLAG-Alaska 23-1.
| Date Taken: | 10.11.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 10.14.2022 19:44 |
| Story ID: | 431394 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 140 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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