Team maintains tools to support grounded aircraft

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Gates | ALI BASE, Iraq - Airman 1st Class Andrew Moen, 407th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron aerospace ground equipment specialist, checks the valves on a Dash-86 diesel generator during a recent tune up.  

IRAQ

07.14.2006

Courtesy Story

332d Air Expeditionary Wing

By Master Sgt. Andrew Gates
407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs

ALI BASE, Iraq - An Air Force base would be fairly ineffective without aircraft " whether permanently assigned or, at a minimum, transiting the area bringing in supplies and personnel.

Each of those aircraft requires special equipment to help maintain or support it, moving it into and out of the Air Force base quickly and smoothly.

At Ali, a team of two people take care of more than 80 pieces of that equipment, also known as aerospace ground equipment, or AGE, said Staff Sergeant Jacquelin O'Neal, 407th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron AGE shop.

Normally, the AGE shop falls under an aircraft maintenance squadron of some type, but at Ali, where there are no permanently assigned Air Force aircraft, the shop falls under operations, which maintains the flight line and takes care of aircraft transiting Ali Base.

"We inspect, troubleshoot and repair more than 80 pieces of AGE daily," said Sergeant O'Neal. "We also maintain the accounts to ensure tracking and accountability of all this equipment. We support all the transiting aircraft and maintenance equipment if an aircraft breaks at Ali."

The job here can be a hectic one for the two AGE technicians, said Airman 1st Class Andrew Moen, deployed here from Ramstein AB, Germany. At home, for instance, they have about 550 pieces of AGE and more than 50 people who maintain it.

"Our equipment directly supports the aircraft," he said. "So without us, ground maintenance of the aircraft would be impossible."

A standard day for the team involves inspecting any equipment which is due for preventive maintenance, said Sergeant O'Neal. They also troubleshoot and repair any broken equipment.

Their equipment ranges from light carts, generators that provide power to aircraft electrical systems, air conditioners to keep avionics cool and hydraulic servicing carts to maintain hydraulics on any inbound fighter aircraft. The team also maintains a number of maintenance stands to reach the tail or wings of various aircraft, said Sergeant O'Neal.

Although they mostly support transient aircraft, the team does help out with servicing or repairing other AGE belonging to other flying units at Ali, such as the Navy and the Army.

"We help the Navy and Army a lot," said Sergeant O'Neal. "We let the Navy borrow our equipment and we service their nitrogen bottles when they need it. We also service nitrogen bottles for the Army aeromedical evacuation missions."

Sometimes, the job doesn't even involve aircraft. For instance, the team charged the base entrance gates with nitrogen to make them easier for the guards to open, said Sergeant O'Neal.

Iraq's hot dry climate plays havoc on some of the equipment, some of which is older than the two Airmen maintaining it, said Sergeant O'Neal.

"The air filters get clogged quickly," she said. "When we pull them out, the filters are covered with dust. We are also supposed to lubricate certain pieces of AGE regularly " the lubrication tends to attract a lot of dust."

Despite the wide variety of equipment and the difficulties posed by weather, the team finds the job enjoyable.

"We put planes in the air for real wartime missions," said Sergeant O'Neal. "It's the real thing."Airman Moen agrees.

"My favorite part is knowing that what we do puts planes in the air," he said. "We are helping keep the Air Force mission ready all the time."

He is also excited about the impact he has, by providing ground support for aircraft in theater, in helping the Iraqi people build a democratic government.

"I think what U.S. troops are doing here is awesome," Airman Moen said. "I can only hope that the Iraqi people will be able to experience some of the freedoms that our people take for granted every day."

• Date Taken: 07.14.2006
• Date Posted: 07.14.2006 09:50
• Story ID: 7182
• Location: IQ