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Steel and fire: Metals Tech. provides precision for unique challenges

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Phillip Butterfield
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq --  When an aircraft comes back broken from a sortie , and the part to repair it does not exist in the supply chain, all hope for repair might feel lost. However, in the distance, an Airman wields a glimmering, 35,000 degree Fahrenheit light of hope.

The 332nd Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron's Metals Technology Flight uses a lathe, drill press, torch and imagination to repair, and at times create, parts that are no longer available.

"If it's made of metal and it's on this base or you have a schematic of it, we can fix it or make it," said Senior Airman Lloyd Davis, 332 EMXS metals technology journeyman.

When a flightline maintainer notices a structural issue with an aircraft, metals tech Airmen go to the aircraft and evaluates the problem. If it needs repairs or replacement, it is brought to their shop where it is fixed or another is made.

Some military equipment is no longer supplied by the manufacture, nor are there any substitutes. Occasionally parts are received that don't work correctly with current aircraft modifications, and need to be adjusted. "We also support the Army and Navy when they do not have the capabilities to manufacture a part," said Staff Sgt. Bradley White, 332 EMXS metals technology craftsman, a native of Bells, Tenn., deployed from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.

However, making an aircraft part is not as simple as just grinding away at a piece of metal until the desired product is achieved. When working with metal, precision is more important than speed.

"We use schematics or blueprints to ensure correct measurements," said Airman Davis, a native of Fairfax County, Va., deployed from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. "We work on parts that have tolerances of up to 1,000th of an inch, and if you are off you need to start all over again."

With precision work like this, it may be said that enjoyment in your work is a prerequisite.

"I like doing what I do; if I had to choose one job in maintenance this would be it. We get to work on many of-one-of a kind items that requires us to be imaginative and creative," said Airman Davis.