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Where there's a wheel, there's a way

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The wheels on the plane go round and round thanks to a new capability and team of Airmen the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing.

The wing's newest group of maintainers opened up shop April 10 and are an integral part of the F-15 mission. After all, if an aircraft doesn't have wheels, it can't take off and certainly can't land, said Tech. Sgt. Tessa Holtz, the NCO in charge of the wheel and tire shop.

"We came here to build up this wheel and tire shop so that we would have the capability to turn wheels here," said Holtz, a Reedsport, Ore., native deployed from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.

Before the 380th AEW had its own team of specialists, maintainers would have to ship wheel assemblies and tires to other installations for repair, so the new shop saves the Air Force time and money by repairing them locally, Holtz said.

When a pilot, crew chief or other maintainer notices something amiss with an F-15 wheel or tire - or during routine preventive maintenance scheduling - the entire assembly is brought to the wheel and tire shop.

To begin the repair process, a member of the team first separates the tire from the metal wheel assembly. Next, they further break down the wheel into several components so each can be inspected and replaced, if necessary. They examine the tire and also swap it out or repair it if they can. Finally, they clean the parts and put the whole thing back together.

"Having the process here - the build, tear down and build back up - it's saving about four days of time," explained Master Sgt. Brian Olmstead, a Port Allegany, Penn., native deployed from Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.

The wheel and tire shop team was originally deployed to another base in Southwest Asia, but the Airmen were brought to the 380th AEW with the specific goal of building up the new shop, said Olmstead, the maintenance flight chief who oversees Holtz and her crew.

The small but skilled team of technicians is cobbled together from various maintenance backgrounds. For example, Senior Airman James Brantley is an F-16 Fighting Falcon crew chief deployed from Shaw AFB, S.C. For him, the greatest job satisfaction comes from knowing what they do directly contributes to F-15s flying their training and deterrence missions.

"It's new and exciting to be part of something that wasn't here before," said Brantley, a Swainsboro, Ga., native. "To do what we do, just knowing, in all honesty that it's going to go out to the flightline and be utilized there. I'm proud to be a part of this."