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Kyrgyz Ministry of Defense team shadows Airmen, learns expeditionary maintenance

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Olufemi Owolabi
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan --  Airmen of the 376th Expeditionary Maintenance Group hosted members of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Defense maintenance team at the Transit Center at Manas recently to showcase and share with their host nation what expeditionary maintenance is all about.

The Kyrgyz delegation, led by Lt. Col. Vakhiddulla Toktakhunov, visited the Transit Center to learn more about aircraft maintenance operations from Airmen and was able to gain more insight that could help their country improve processes and efficiencies in their own maintenance operations.

"The purpose of the visit is to educate them on our practices, structure and the way we operate and conduct maintenance" said Maj. Michael Colvard, 376th EAMXS commander, deployed here from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. "It also gives them an opportunity to see how they compare to us, in the way they do business - the equipment we use, the procedures we use, and our organizational structure."

During the visit, Lt Col. Bradley Allen, 376th Maintenance Group commander, gave the Kyrgyz team a briefing at the maintenance headquarters building, which covered a snapshot of the Manas mission-- air refueling, airlift (cargo) and onward movement of personnel--plus other topics such as the way the U.S. Air Force organizes its aircraft maintenance functions.

After his briefing, Colonel Allen, while opening for more discussions and questions from the Kyrgyz counterparts, said "We (the Air Force) are always seeking ways to improve our operations, and we welcome the opportunity for this information exchange with aircraft maintenance personnel from Kyrgyz Ministry of Defense."

The Kyrgyz delegation had the opportunity to visit various shops to take a first-hand look at Airmen in action and to tour a KC-135. Some of the shops were the Aircraft Maintenance Unit, Aerospace Ground Equipment shop and the Maintenance Backshop, which according to Kyrgyz Capt. Denis Satir, was one of the most fascinating parts of their visit.

At the Backshop, where they were greeted by a team of Airmen led by Master Sgt. Xavier Gutierrez, the flashes of surprise on Kyrgyz faces could not be hidden when they saw an array of aircraft fabrication equipment and machines.

Kyrgyz Captain Satir, who got a hands-on of the Production Tube Bending machine, said they were impressed with everything they saw. Also, none of their questions went unanswered by the Airmen.

We were very impressed with the professionalism and expertise of the Airmen, said Captain Satir, who spoke through an interpreter.

""Even though we may have different technology," said Major Colvard, "they may be able to take away processes and ideas from this visit to create new designs and processes in their work environment to enhance their jobs and ultimately achieve greater mission effectiveness for their aircraft."

The visit culminated with a tour of the interior of a KC-135, boom operations, and a trip to the flightline to see a KC-135 takeoff for an Operation Enduring Freedom refueling mission.

"Overall, I thought the visit went extremely well," Colonel Allen said. "I believe we gave them a pretty good look at what we do and how we do it. The exchange of information, questions, and answers was good in many respects. Most importantly, however, I believe it helped us in learning more about the Kyrgyz and them about us....which will only help to make us stronger partners in the war against terrorism and extremism."