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No moos about EMXS's cash cow AIS

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Phillip Butterfield
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq --  Heads-up display $225,717.84, encrypted ultra-high frequency radio $38,054.58, pilot throttle grip $4,115.17 a shop that can repair these components and more--priceless.

The 332nd Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron's F-16 Avionics Intermediate Shop has the final say whether a part is repaired, returned to service or sent away for depot level maintenance for all F-16 Fighting Falcon avionics parts found on Joint Base Balad.

"During the last three months, we have been able to save JBB $1.7 million by returning parts into service," said Master Sgt. Jeffrey Orr, 332nd EMXS F-16 AIS section chief.

AIS provides screening, testing and maintenance for F-16 line replaceable units from bases in Afghanistan and Iraq. LRUs are the computers and other components that are quick to replace to repair the aircraft, some of these LRUs include fire-control radar components, heads-up displays, radios and flight-control equipment to include side sticks and throttle grips.

Positive control of parts is important, this is why AIS receives them through the aircraft parts supply chain, and not from the maintainers directly, said Staff. Sgt. Christopher Francis, 332 EMXS F-16 AIS repair technician. If the shop can repair the part, it will be placed back into the supply system; if not, the part is tagged "not repairable this station" and sent to one of two depots: Hill Air Force Base, Utah, or Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

"We also screen for 'bad actors': parts that test 'good' in our shop, but perform poorly on the aircraft," said Sergeant Francis, a native of Aiken, S.C., deployed from McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C. "Some of the parts I work on cost more than my house. So we try to be as thorough with our procedures as possible."

AIS receives more than 70 LRU's a month, 65 percent of which are returned to supply ready for use and the other 35 percent are tagged and sent to depot, said Master Sgt. Jeffrey Orr, 332nd EMXS F-16 AIS section chief., a native of Columbia, S.C., deployed from McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C.

With the shops attention to detail, JBB's fighter mission will not skip a beat, and can count on dependable high-quality actors returning to service by the Airmen of AIS.