Photo By Sgt. Mariah Best | Staff Sgt. Jesse Van O’linda, 1107th Theater Aviation Support Maintenance Group,...... read more read more
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KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – The Missouri National Guard has deployed a unique fighting force in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, bringing a multitude of skill sets to Regional Command (South).
Deploying all the way from Springfield, Mo., the 1107th Theater Aviation Support Maintenance Group hit the ground running when they arrived at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, in late November 2013, assuming the posture to support various combat aviation brigades by providing continuous aviation maintenance for all Army helicopters.
“We can do A-Z, anything that needs to be done on an aircraft. We provide the highest level of aircraft maintenance, whether it’s crash damage or battle damage, we can fix it all,” Maj. Vaughn Brown, 1107th 3rd Detachment commander, said.
The 1107th aviation group is a 485-citizen-soldier unit that consists of three organic companies, and is commanded by Col. David G. Dippold and Command Sgt. Maj. Jack Lambeth.
Although the 1107th only deployed with 100 people, they are divided amongst their ranks between Kandahar Airfield, Bagram Airfield, and Kuwait - with 26 stationed at KAF as the 3rd detachment, TASMG.
The 1107th provides a level of care that can only be mirrored by three other National Guard units in the United States. The other three units who can preform these functions are located in Connecticut, California, and Mississippi.
“There are only four of us in the U.S. Our full time Mo. TASMG provides continuous maintenance to the National Guard helicopter fleet within our region,” Brown said.
At home, the 1107th is responsible for providing aircraft maintenance and care to a 14-state region.
“We are the senior aviation authority via the theater aviation maintenance program and bring a sustainment and a depot repair level to the theater,” Brown added.
In addition to providing the highest level of helicopter maintenance for the CABs, the 1107th is also responsible for managing the ballistic armor protection program, which involves installing and removing the ballistic plates placed throughout the body of the aircraft.
“We manage from cradle to grave, the BAPs program for the entire theatre. Once a new aircraft is received, we are responsible for installing the BAPs and if the helicopter has to be sent out of theater, we are responsible for taking them out,” Brown said.
The 1107th also manages and provides the aviation ground support equipment program to the CABs for commercial off-the-shelf equipment, making it possible to access essential parts and equipment that are not available via a standard military ordering process.
“We make it possible for aircraft to stay in theatre and not have to be sent back to the states for repair,” Chief Warrant Officer 3 Richard Lawrence, 1107th maintenance officer, said. “Our mechanics actually are more like surgeons for the aircraft, they look through a different glass than your baseline mechanic would.”
Lawrence explained how the 1107th soldiers are invaluable when it comes to fixing and manufacturing parts, because most are not available in the military sector.
If it weren’t for the resources that they provide, valuable parts would have to be ordered through a civilian sector, which would hinder operations.
“Our Soldiers bring a civilian skill set to the fight and their diverse expertise is priceless,” Lawrence said.
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Daniel Melberg, 1107th quality control officer in charge and safety maintenance officer, agreed.
“We offer something no other unit offers. Being in the Guard, we have those other life experiences that we bring to the table and it adds to the entire package,” Melberg said.
“It’s a thing the Guard has to offer that active duty does not,” he added.
One of the biggest things the 1107th brings to theater is their machine shop depot level sheet metal repair, which enables them to repair extensive damage to helicopters.
“If we didn’t have this capability, the aircraft would have to be sent back to the states or a team would have to come to theatre and bring all the tools and parts, and would ultimately eat up time and money,” Brown said.
Lawrence explained that having a shop on KAF has given them the opportunity to cross-train many of their soldiers, providing them with a combined edge of civilian and military knowledge.
Many of the soldiers have had the opportunity to cross train in positions that will help give them experience and valuable knowledge that will make them more marketable upon returning home as citizen-soldiers.
“The dynamics are very integrated within the (military occupational specialty), mechanics could be working on OH-58 Kiowa repairs or pulling a transmission out of a UH-60 Black Hawk,” Lawrence said.
Being able to utilize adverse soldiers keeps equipment where it belongs- in the fight, Brown said.
“A lot of the repairs we do are on (medical evacuation) birds, and those are the ones extremely critical to the mission. Those are the ones saving lives, so they have to be brought back to the fight as quick as they can,” he added.
As the 1107th continues to work on aircraft repairs, maintain the BAPs program, provide ground support equipment and cross-train their citizen-soldiers, they stay true to their motto, “Semper Volans:” always flying.
| Date Taken: | 03.03.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 03.06.2014 11:19 |
| Story ID: | 121584 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 1,369 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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