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MC-12W Project Liberty team: Supporting the mission since 2009

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Cierra Presentado
  • 455th AEW Public Affairs

The MC-12W Project Liberty team has been in theater since 2009, with the 455th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron providing the maintenance support needed for the Air Force and Army to keep the aircraft in the sky.

The MC-12W is a medium to low altitude, twin-engine turboprop aircraft that provides surveillance and reconnaissance support directly to ground forces. The crew consists of a pilot, co-pilot, and two sensor operators manned by Airmen and Soldiers.

The Project Liberty L-3 contractors, attached to the 427th Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale AFB, Calif., are responsible for performing all routine maintenance for the MC-12W.

“Me and my team are responsible for all the pre-flight inspections, fueling the aircraft and just making sure it’s ready for the next mission,” said Harold Mcloud, 455th EMXS MC-12 aircraft maintainer. “If something breaks down, we make sure to address it quickly and accurately before takeoff.”

Master Sgt. Travis Jaeger, 455th Expeditionary Maintenance Group contractor office representative, oversees all the L-3 contractors and ensures they are fulling their contract here at BAF.

“I’m a one person shop and I manage all the MC-12 guys here; I basically make sure they are meeting all the contract deployment requirements,” Jaeger said. “The maintainers do a great job. Since I’ve been here there haven’t been any discrepancies or write-ups from these guys. They’ve met every metric and they currently have the highest mission availability rate for the wing. They’re a great team here to support the mission.”

The MC-12 capability supports all aspects of the Air Force to include counter insurgency, foreign internal defense and building partnership capacity, and it will continue to contribute to the BAF mission in support of the 2015 fighting season and execution of NATO’s Resolute Support mission.