Courtesy Photo | Generator, alternator... the differences are invisible to those people using the...... read more read more
By Tech. Sgt. Melissa Phillips
407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
09/23/2005
ALI BASE, Iraq --One office here works behind the scenes day and night to harvest an under-appreciated necessity everyone needs to do their job -- electricity.
Every time a person here flips a light switch, turns on a computer, gets a cold drink out of the refrigerator or relaxes in the air conditioning, they can thank the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron Power Production element, or more commonly called Power Pro.
"No one on base can do their job to the fullest extent without electricity," said Staff Sgt. Jeremy Schoneboom, 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron Power Production craftsman, who is stationed at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, United Kingdom.
The batch of energy makers here maintains two power plants with rows of interconnected generators and more than 100 stand-alone units at buildings throughout the installation to provide power for military operations here.
Nothing would turn on, beep or flicker without the generators that the Power Pro techs maintain - and the base would permanently return to the dark ages.
Unlike on most overseas and stateside bases, Ali Base has no permanent electricity lines piped into the installation. Whereas the cable infrastructure is hardened at home station facilities, here cables are shallowly buried, and are subjected to heavy foot-traffic and continual heat.
Therefore, Sergeant Schoneboom says power outages are almost an unavoidable part of deployment life, although it's something they strive to avoid through a kicked up preventive maintenance plan.
"Most people take for granted they have power," said Sergeant Schoneboom. "They don't realize the work that goes into providing that power.
"Just like in a vehicle you have to get an oil change every 3,000 miles, so you're vehicle runs right. We have to do an oil change on the generator every 300 hours," he said.
With more than 100 generators under their control and more than 30 of those that require daily inspections, the Power Pro techs remain busy around the clock.
For the majority of their shift, he and his crew don't have the opportunity to appreciate the air conditioning their equipment generates, because they spend their time driving from location to location fixing generators.
"They installed a generator at the towers near the entry control point, so the personnel sitting inside the towers don't have to sweat to death in those little metal, hot boxes," said Staff Chad Steele, 407th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Tactical Automated Security System administrator, who is deployed from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
Knowing that the generators he maintains provide electricity to allow security forces member's to stay cool and alert to provide base defense for the thousands of U.S. servicemembers and coalition forces here is something Sergeant Schoneboom takes pride in.
"It makes me feel good to know we are aiding the security forces with their comfort, so they don't have to sit in those towers without air conditioning," said Sergeant Schoneboom.
Although electricity is often used to make people's daily lives easier, one of the services Power Pro techs provide could save a life in an emergency.
They maintain the aircraft arresting system, which is a cabling system that essentially acts as a reverse sling shot and provides enough tension to catch fighter aircraft and bring them to a complete stop.
Whether it's an aircraft breaking system or one of the many generators on base, Power Pro techs are out there turning wrenches 24/7 to keep the generators working in the dusty, desert environment under punishing weather extremes.
"I feel like I have a bigger part of the mission here," said Senior Airman Thompson, 407th ECES Power Production journeyman, who rotates with other people inside a control room to watch for spikes and power fluctuations on a control board to help reduce generator crashes and power outages.
"At home station, we only provide back up power. Here, we directly support the war on terror, because we provide power for everyone to do their job," Airman Thompson said.
Although without Power Pro techs turning wrenches there wouldn't be any electricity on base, Sergeant Schoneboom says he knows his customers don't typically see him as a welcome sight.
| Date Taken: | 10.22.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 10.22.2005 17:14 |
| Story ID: | 3450 |
| Location: | ALI BASE, IQ |
| Web Views: | 82 |
| Downloads: | 23 |
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