Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Daniel Heaton | Senior Airman Melvin Cruz and Staff Sgt. Edgardo Gonzalez, both members of the Puerto...... read more read more
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From presidential service to powering buildings, the Airmen of the 156th Aerospace Ground Equipment shop have been in high demand at Muniz Air National Guard Base since first Hurricane Irma and then Maria hit the island in September. This team is responsible for keeping the power on at Muniz to maintain operations for the Puretor Rico Air National Guard.
“It is a lot of requests every day. We are standing by to help with anything we can,” said Senior Airman Melvin Cruz, one of nine Citizen-Airmen of the PRANG working in the shop since Hurricane Maria hit the area on Sept. 20.
Aerospace Ground Equipment, or AGE, is a collection of generators, light stands and related equipment typically used to support aircraft operations. Since the storm, the gear has been pressed in to service to provide power to buildings around the base. The lights have also been used to support various night operations.
The AGE Airmen also provided equipment to support the visit to the base of both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, who arrived on separate days the first week in October on Air Force One and Air Force Two, respectively.
“That was a first for certain,” said Staff Sgt. Edgardo Gonzalez. “They used our generator to support the refueling of Air Force One. We never touched the aircraft, but it was an honor to be able to support that mission.”
To support base operations, the AGE team worked with the 156th Civil Engineer Squadron to ensure that all of the generators on the base were kept fueled and running.
“Our equipment normally does not run for multiple days without interruption,” Gonzalez said. “So we paid close attention to make sure that everything was well-tuned.”
In the weeks since the storm, a team of power production specialists from the Tennessee Air National Guard have arrived at Muniz, to supplement the operations of the power production team of the PRANG’s 156th Airlift Wing. As additional generators have come on line at the base, the AGE equipment has slowly been returning to its more common role of supporting aircraft operations.
During a heavy rainstorm about three weeks after Maria passed, the AGE Airmen were ensuring several storm pumps on the base had power and were working properly, so that no run-off from equipment work areas would end up in wetlands just outside the base.
“So, today, we are protecting the environment. Everyone just does what needs to be done,” Cruz said.
During a pause in between jobs, talk with Cruz and Gonzalez turned to their stories of surviving Maria and its aftermath.
Both Airmen live about a 45-minute drive away from the base under normal driving conditions. For both, there’s been personal challenge as well as the additional challenges at work.
Gonzalez’ home was without running water for about a month, first losing service after Irma. He survived by having several water barrels and cases of water ready. For a month, his family used a small, portable camping stove to get by. Gonzalez lives on about an acre of land – an acre that was once filled with fruit trees of various types.
“Now, they are all gone. Not a single one survived,” he said.
Cruz spent the day after Maria with an axe and a chainsaw removing trees and power poles from the road so that he could make it in to the city from his rural home.
“You had to do it, or you would never get out,” he said.
He did take advantage of one fringe benefit of his job with the PRANG – for several weeks his home was without water service as well, so he took showers every day at work.
“I needed to conserve water at home for my family. When the times are not so good, you have to make changes,” he said.
“Everything is changing a lot, but in the wing, I think we are working to make things better,” Cruz said.
The efforts of the AGE Airmen continue to provide critical support to the base and its air operations. Without this team, the base would literally be in the dark.
| Date Taken: | 10.11.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 10.11.2017 14:01 |
| Story ID: | 251199 |
| Location: | PR |
| Web Views: | 65 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, There is air power and then their are Airmen who know power, by SMSgt Daniel Heaton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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