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Can’t spell test without TES

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tara A. Williamson
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  "If a maintainer designed this it would be so much better."

"Did they even talk to pilots when they implemented this?"

Luckily, more than 60 Airmen and civilians - many of whom are former pilots and maintainers - are on the job.  At the Air Mobility Command Test and Evaluation Squadron here, members use their aircrew backgrounds to update and advance aircraft components in safe and innovative ways.

"Our job is to test and evaluate new equipment or a procedure to ensure the warfighter receives operationally effective and suitable capabilities," said Lt. Col. Travis Sjostedt, AMCTES commander. "Our folks come here as 7-levels (craftsmen in their fields) or instructor pilots as their background."

Airmen looking to join the AMCTES must have at least one special experience identifier, stated Senior Master Sgt. Jason Hale, AMCTES superintendent. Some members in the unit hold as many as five SEIs.

Senior Master Sgt. Gregory Keels, Test and Evaluation Operations Flight assistant commander, said he felt apprehensive when he first arrived. As he was acclimating to his new unit he saw personnel around the offices talking about evaluation methodology, and met an analyst he said "probably dreams in equations," and many other brilliant minds at work. But he looked at it as a challenge.

"I feel I'm a pretty intelligent guy, and I get here trying to learn these processes and I'm like -" mimicking a deer in the headlights and laughing, he continued, "Maybe I'm not as smart as I thought I was. There are a lot of really, really intelligent people here. It's just different, but you overcome and adjust to a new way of performing. "

While their backgrounds offer important insight while executing their current mission, squadron members have had to learn to also look at the bigger picture. In addition to having a maintainer or pilot mindset, they must also adjust their thinking to make equipment or processes not only more efficient, but also safer for users.

The operations flight members, like Keels, focus on the air crew viewpoint and the systems and equipment they work with regularly. The TE Logistics Flight concentrates on ground maintenance; the aircraft as a whole; and support and aerospace ground equipment.

"The tests that we do are on every aircraft in the AMC inventory," said Senior Master Sgt. Richard Spotts, TEL assistant commander. "We have tests that will go on over five years, because we have a strong focus here of testing the reliability of equipment and systems. To measure reliability you have to let something operate to see how long it lasts until it breaks."

Personnel in TEL have arrived at the squadron after a test has begun and left before its completion, Spotts stated. There is a strong focus on working together, having a good turnover and having multiple experienced people on any given test.

"On many tests, we work with the guard and reserve components," he added. "The aircraft are all AMC assets, but a lot of them are operated by the Air Reserve Command or the Air National Guard."

AMCTES has partnered with Air Force Special Operations Command, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, as well as all other Defense Department testing agencies and units that operate the same aircraft as AMC.

While the tests are designed to update AMC aircraft, different environments are needed for specific tests to take place.

"For example, we're working on a KC-135 Stratotanker landing gear corrosion test, so we needed a very corrosive environment. We chose Hickam," Spotts explained. "It's on an island surrounded by saltwater. Historically there's a lot of corrosion on the landing gear on the aircraft assigned to Hawaii. So there's no set unit we reach out to, as long as they have the requirements to perform the test."

The final piece to AMCTES is the Support Flight.

The support personnel perform the behind-the-scenes work, said Capt. Craig Geiser, TE Support Flight commander. They have a personnelist, communications support section, a technical writer, a visual arts representative and an analyst, all so the test directors in the other flights are able to focus on the jobs they are tasked with.

"Overall we have a whole bunch of people coming in from a bunch of different backgrounds and the majority of them have no experience in testing," explained Lt. Col. Sandra Wilson, AMCTES director of operations. "We train them up and ask them to branch out and broaden their horizons. They're willing to learn what they need in order to fulfill other tests. It's a cool thing to see."

At any given time the squadron can be working on 30 tests, all at different stages, Wilson said.

"We're a unit full of superstars," Spotts said. He has been serving more than 20 years and said he has never worked in a squadron where he would have anyone in his crew take a test plan and run with it.

"This unit is full of self-motivated go-getters that I can rely on. Best unit I've ever worked in."