Photo By Adrian Cadiz | Senior Airman Amalya Velez, 76th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit, Camp...... read more read more
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CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan -- Being ready to respond at a moment's notice is a mindset indigenous to the Fever mission. But, if the HC-130P Hercules aren't in working order, the rescue mission can't fly. The maintainers ensure the two C-130s are in good working condition so that the rescue flights can launch at a moment's notice.
The maintainers are responsible for performing routine inspections, pre-flight inspections at the beginning of every shift as well as any and all maintenance the aircraft may require.
"The ops tempo here is really high," said Senior Master Sgt. Max Rippel, 76th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit superintendent. "With only two planes to carry out a mission as high pace as this one is, our maintenance crew needs to be at the top of their game or the planes won't fly. If that happens, it's not just mission failure, it could mean someone who's wounded doesn't get saved in time."
Operating in Afghanistan presents the maintenance crews with its fair share of challenges.
"The heat really plays a big role in the problems we're having with the engines. The hotter it gets, the harder the engine works to run. That combined with dust and you see a lot maintenance being done more often," said Senior Airman Ricky Lambert, 76th EAMU crew chief. "The weather has been a real obstacle out here but we're not letting that affect our ability to fix those planes. Rain, sleet, dust, you name it - we're out there turning wrenches."
Recently, the crew switched out an entire engine because all methods to trouble shoot a problem the aircraft was having failed. An intense undertaking under any condition, the maintenance crew succeeded in replacing the engine in record time and got the Hercules back in the flying rotation in less than a day.
"We tried everything to fix the problem until finally we decided to drop the engine and replace it with a new one," said Lambert, a native of Hooksett, N.H. "We were mission capable within eight hours."
Another challenge is getting the right pieces to fix both routine and non-routine maintenance issues. Performing maintenance in a deployed base with minimal resources available requires creativity and the ability to anticipate.
"I would say our biggest problem out here is getting those parts that are readily accessible in the States are scattered all over the theater here," Lambert said. "We have a good idea of what breaks down often so we have a good backlog of those parts. You need to be able to forecast what you'll need so you aren't always in a jam."
While the planes are generally inspected by the crew chiefs, the entire maintenance crew shows up when the plane needs maintenance or undergoes an inspection. Staying true to the motto "All in," the maintenance specialists are always ready to pitch in and lend a hand - even if it means learning something new.
"Since coming here, I've learned a lot of the crew chief's job," said Senior Airman Michael Hayes, 76th EAMU instruments and flight control systems specialist. "Most of the back shop people do whatever they can. The more hands you have helping out, the quicker you can get a plane ready. That's important out here, especially with only two planes."
The crew's ability to troubleshoot maintenance issues has been a real strength to the rescue mission.
"We don't have the luxury of a few extra planes," said Tech. Sgt. Wes Lercher, 76th EAMU crew chief. "And, when a mission drops, the crew needs to be able to jump in the plane and get to the people who are wounded. The mission can't wait around for a plane to be fixed. So, we've become good at finding what we need here to get the plane back in the air."
The maintenance crews remain in constant communication with the flight engineers and the pilots to make sure the P-model Hercules are in top condition. Being able to take their description of a particular concern allows the crew to quickly and accurately diagnose a problem. This, in turn, keeps the mission running.
"If the FE tells me 'Hey, I heard this coming from here,' it helps us troubleshoot the problem quicker," said Senior Airman Timothy Koss, 76th EAMU crew chief. "As a crew chief, it's important I know what's going on with the plane so that I can coordinate with the back shops to get the problem fixed."
The maintenance crew aims at identifying any and all maintenance issues immediately. For this reason, the inspection schedule they adhere to is especially important to the flying mission.
"We're able to find a whole bunch of drama whenever we put the aircraft through an inspection," Lercher said. "That's why inspections are so important; we can catch [an issue] right then and fix it before it becomes a problem that will ground the plane for an extended period of time."
As long as a mission can fly unaffected by the issues the maintainers work steadily to overcome, the operations side of the Fever mission can respond to any 9-Line medical request that drops. In this case, not being noticed means it's a good day for the maintainers.
"No one notices when you can address a problem and have the plane mission capable within hours," Lambert said. "It's when the plane is hard broke that you're noticed. That's a good thing in a way, as long as we're able to keep the plane in the air and keep fixing these problems, then it's okay to not be seen."
| Date Taken: | 06.03.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2011 04:02 |
| Story ID: | 71739 |
| Location: | CAMP BASTION, AF |
| Web Views: | 209 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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