605th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron

Airman 1st Class Brandon Jones and Senior Airman Juan Velazquez, 605th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron electrician and environment specialists, change an Auxiliary Power Unit Pack Temperature Demand Controller on a KC-10 Extender that has fluxuating frequencies Dec. 27, 2012, on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. The 605th AMXS comprises more than 400 active-duty and Reserve Airmen who maintain 32 KC-10 aircraft. The squadron is known around the world for ‘bringing fuel to the fight.’ Velazquez and Jones hail from Phoenix and Centerville, Ind. (U.S. Air Force photo by Wayne Russell/Released)

605th AMXS maintains KC-10s, AF mission

Published Jan. 10, 2013
By Airman 1st Class Ryan Throneberry
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- The 605th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron works 365 days a year to ensure a fleet of KC-10 Extenders are always ready for operations here.

The 605th AMXS comprises more than 400 active-duty and Reserve Airmen who maintain 32 KC-10 aircraft. The squadron is known around the world for 'bringing fuel to the fight.'

"We provide a force extension which breeds efficiency both in fuel and time delivery," said Maj. AJ Griffin, 605th AMXS commander. "Force extension translates directly to supporting our forces downrange with food, ammunition and any other supplies you can imagine which can often be a matter of life and death."

The KC-10 Extender is Air Mobility Command's advanced tanker and cargo aircraft designed to provide increased global mobility for U.S. armed forces. Although the KC-10s' primary mission is aerial refueling, it can also provide critical cargo capability. The multi-faceted aircraft conducts air-to-air refueling while simultaneously carrying personnel and equipment to deployment locations. The KC-10 is also capable of transporting litter and ambulatory patients using patient support pallets during aeromedical evacuations.

KC-10 maintainers inspect the aircraft and check components for clearances, tolerances, proper installation and operation. They operate powered and non-powered aerospace ground support equipment, identify aircraft corrosion for prevention and correction, review maintenance forms and aircraft records to ensure complete documentation. The maintainers specialize in instrument and flight control maintenance, communications and navigation, hydraulics, aerospace propulsion, fuels, electrical and environmental systems and aero repair.

Griffin, a former enlisted C-5 Galaxy maintainer, said he knows firsthand the remarkable feeling of a job well done in the maintainer realm.

"It's very gratifying watching an aircraft you just worked on take off, knowing you had a direct role in ensuring the mobility mission continues," said Griffin. "It's up to us everyday to keep the wheels turning so to speak."

The spirit of workmanship is shared throughout the more than 400 Airmen.

"At an aircraft maintenance level, the mission cannot continue without a healthy aircraft," said Airman 1st Class Brandon Jones, 605th AMXS electrician specialist. "An unhealthy KC-10 means it can't deliver the fuel or supplies to those in need."

The 605th AMXS keeps the KC-10s in the air which in turn fuels the fight for another day.