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Failure not an option for JB MDL Airmen downrange

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jacob Morgan
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  One of three KC-10 Extender engines is hoisted more than 40 feet in the air and placed in the tail of the plane. The General Electric CF6-50C2 engine weighs approximately 9,000 pounds and requires significant manpower to move around.

Typical maintenance on this engine is completed at U.S. bases, where units have large hangars and ample time to diagnose and fix problems. However, with combat sorties to fly and a higher operations tempo overseas, members of the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron KC-10 Aircraft Maintenance Unit, some deployed from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., worked late into the night and early into the morning to remove and replace the engine on the flightline.

An engine replacement typically requires four specialties: hydraulics, electrical and environmental, crew chiefs and jet engine mechanics. However, six specialties, including communications navigation and guidance and control, were on hand to split open the tail of the aircraft, set up stands, hoists, disconnect the engine and reconnect a new one.

Teamwork is what drives the unit to success, said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Mitch Johnson, 380th EAMXS KC-10 AMU superintendent.

"We maintain 99 percent effectiveness because our teammates do not want the mission to slip. Even though everyone has his or her specialty and own lane, everyone here is helping each other," said Johnson, who calls Thief River Falls, Minn., home and is deployed from JB MDL. "You'll find that maintainers hate to fail. Everyone here in this unit has a greater sense of belonging and a drive to work together."

This drive helps them keep the KC-10 operational while abiding by three rules: safety first, maintenance by-the-book and taking the time to do things right the first time.

When an Extender lands, crew chiefs recover the aircraft and start the next round of maintenance. Crew chiefs are responsible for regularly servicing the aircraft to include pre- and post-flight inspections, refueling, checking tires and brakes.

Johnson said crew chiefs are the "jack-of-all-trades and master of none," meaning they have knowledge on all of the systems, but they also have to know when to call in one of the five specialties for help.

If a problem is found during an inspection, crew chiefs will do some trouble shooting and narrow down the problem if possible. Sometimes, they can fix the problem or remove and replace a part, but when they cannot, they call in the specialist.

"These are old-school aircraft and it requires reading a book, trouble shooting, and start ruling out each component, each connector and finding the issue," said Johnson. "If it cannot be fixed here it's removed and replaced."

Most of the removing and replacing is done by the specialties, for instance, a jet engine mechanic would replace parts on the engines, or a hydraulic specialist would replace hydraulic lines and conduct function checks.

The squadron has fewer people and a higher operations tempo than a typical U.S. unit, but they are still required to keep the Extenders safe and reliable for operations, said Johnson. Every maintainer assigned to the 380th EAMXS KC-10 AMU is a fully qualified journeyman or craftsman. They know the steps for each scenario and using technical orders, can solve the problems quickly.

"My Airmen have the drive to generate aircraft for the highest of operations tempo," said Johnson. "Some things go beyond our capability and that's why we have the back-shops. We brought a lot of capability, but we rely on the fabrications flight, aerospace ground equipment and other shops to help us out. Without them, we wouldn't survive out here."

Once the unit starts the generation process for an aircraft, their turn-around has to be quick. The Extenders are expected to be ready to keep aircraft up in the air for a sustained period of time. For that to happen, members of the 380th EAMXS KC-10 AMU have to give the aircraft a green light to go.

"I need to make sure this 86 million dollar jet is good to go, its green, and it can refuel other aircraft to carry on their mission," said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Richard Fails, 380th EAMXS KC-10 AMU crew chief. "It is a great sense of pride for us to be able to get our team what they need."