Photo By Senior Airman Caleb Parker | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Ethan Fite, left, 373rd Training Squadron Detachment 5 crew...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. – At first glance, the diagrams and schematics of a C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft may appear to be a maze, but at 373rd Training Squadron Detachment 5 students are learning to navigate these maintenance complexities in the classroom and out on the flight line so they can be the next generation of United States Air Force maintainers.
This is where C-17 maintainers undergo rigorous training, combining technical knowledge with the vital skills of teamwork and collaboration.
The schoolhouse hosts students from, U.S. Air Force active duty, Reserve, the Air National Guard, and international mission partners, covering every aspect of cargo aircraft maintenance, as well as offering courses on the principles of how to create and instruct courses to the rest of Joint Base Charleston.
“You can't work in maintenance without feeling like you're on a team,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Bradley Thornton, 373rd TRS Det. 5 operations flight chief. “Our objectives are team objectives. An engine change is a large task, it takes a minimum of four people to accomplish.”
Relying on each other, the instructors practice the team mentality too. They utilize their wide variety of experiences to teach students with real-world examples.
“Our instructors come from all over: Dover, McChord, Travis, Charleston, and McGuire, where they've all seen and had different experiences throughout their career,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Luke Jones, 373rd TRS Det. 5 senior enlisted leader. “When they come here, they can share those experiences with students from different walks of life. The instructors here are good at keeping that line of communication open with the students and fostering that open learning environment.”
Even with the instructors’ wealth of knowledge, the students encounter moments of frustration on some of the more difficult aspects. The C-17 is a complex machine, and mastering its systems can feel overwhelming, but the instructors remind them that they have faced similar struggles.
“We have a lot of instructors that come in and they often say everybody's been where you're at,” said U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Gabrielle Herron, 373rd TRS Det. 5 trainee. “That's the most valuable lesson I've learned so far, even if it feels too hard, the instructors understand because they were Airmen too.”
The Airmen training at Det. 5 leave with more than just knowledge of the C-17. They carry the understanding that success in the field isn’t about individual effort, it's about teamwork, trust, and the shared responsibility of ensuring rapid global mobility.
| Date Taken: | 10.29.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.29.2024 10:23 |
| Story ID: | 484125 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 156 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Det. 5: Inside the schoolhouse that keeps the C-17 flying, by SrA Caleb Parker, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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