Manas Liberandos bust through million pound mark

Published July 23, 2008
By Maj. Damien Pickart
376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyz Republic -- "Liberandos" maintainers helped the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing bust through a new record here - more than1 million pounds of fuel offloaded by its KC-135s to receiver aircraft in a single day.

Like most summer days on the hot concrete ramp at Manas, July 17 was a flurry of activity pierced by the penetrating sound of jet engines, all saturated with the smell of jet fuel exhaust. However, on this particular day the wing kicked it up a notch in order to quick turn its fleet of KC-135 Stratotankers as requests for fuel mirrored an upswing in combat operations in Afghanistan. By sundown, the wing had launched 16 sorties and offloaded 1.01 million pounds of jet fuel to aircraft engaged in and supporting combat operations over the increasingly violent battleground below.

"What our maintainers did that day is astounding," said Maj. Jay Alonzo, 376th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander. "We knew there were troops in contact all day and that their air support was dependent on the gas we provide. Our Airmen know that their efforts have a clear impact on the war and that's what pushed them through the maintenance challenges we encountered."

Maintainers that day worked together like a fine-tuned machine as they quick turned refuelers returning empty from supporting engagements throughout Afghanistan. In one remarkable instance, a KC-135 struck a kite, a large migratory bird frequently seen around Manas, and damaged its inboard wing flap. With no spare flaps on hand and a mission to meet, EAMXS Airmen pulled one from another aircraft grounded for maintenance issues and had the damaged aircraft back on the flying schedule within six hours.

"Changing a flap is no easy task," said Tech. Sgt. Ryan Shipley, a 12-year Air Force veteran deployed from Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., serving here as the KC-135 Aero Repair Flight superintendent. "After assessing the damage, we had to find the best candidate to cannibalize a flap from, jack both aircraft, remove a tire from each to gain the necessary clearance and then remove both flaps - about 350 pounds each - and reinstall the good one. We had two crews working simultaneous on both jobs to keep it in the day's lineup. We knocked it out in three hours, which is three less than the average."

But no bird strike or maintenance issue was going to keep Manas from meeting its air tasking order commitment that day. According to the Air Forces Central Airpower Summary, combat engagements spiked in Afghanistan July 17. The result was numerous fighter aircraft dropping a variety of munitions on Taliban fighters, militants and their strongholds. Keeping those aircraft in the fight and air cover overhead required 48 refueling sorties providing 2.6 million pounds of fuel to 193 receiving aircraft.

"When the dust settled, I looked at the numbers and shared with my maintainers the magnitude of what they pulled off," said Major Alonzo. "We are one of three U.S. tanker units supporting operations in the Central Command area of operations and we provided 38 percent of the fuel, 33 percent of the sorties, and refueled 30 percent of the receivers. What they did on the 17th and continue to do every day demonstrates what a critical link they are in projecting our nation's air power."

Manas' record setting day didn't start off on the most positive note. With one aircraft broke for lack of parts and less than a dozen available to support the wing's commitment to the daily ATO, maintainers, aircrew and support personnel knew they would have to sweat that much harder to put up 16 sorties while maintaining an alert aircraft.

"When 50-year-old aircraft land following an eight hour mission, it's not uncommon to encounter maintenance issues," said Staff Sgt. Michael Overman, a KC-135 crew chief deployed out of Fairchild AFB. "It feels good to be able to get these old gals back in the air quickly. A day like July 17 is good for this plane because the harder we fly them, the less time there is for them to break."

The fastest turn time that afternoon was two hours and 37 minutes; a 'speedway pit stop' time in the KC-135 community. Maintainers here point out that this doesn't mean two hour and 37 minutes for them to inspect and repair issues. In this case, maintainers had only 53 minutes to do their thing after subtracting the time required to taxi, park, refuel and then turn it over to aircrew before the scheduled take off time.

"The most impressive accomplishment of the day is we busted that million pound mark and we did it safely and by the book," said Chief Master Sgt. Pamela Lane, 376th Expeditionary Maintenance Group superintendent. "When we're trying to save lives on the ground in Afghanistan, it doesn't make sense to rush things and jeopardize lives here. Everyone in the chain, from fuels to vehicle ops to the Airmen that feed us, helped this wing reach an impressive milestone and they should be proud of it."

Conducting operations by the book while moving with a purpose was the name of the game as the afternoon pressed on and maintainers and aircrew turned jet after jet, eventually flying the entire fleet once and five of them twice, to include the KC-135 that struck the kite.

"We know what we're up against when we have a hard break like a flap change," said Sergeant Shipley. "I was here last winter when the remains of Soldiers would pass through heading home. I'd point out to our young maintainers that this is why we move with a sense of purpose to get our tankers back in the sky. Those guys need us."

Liberandos maintainers like Sergeant Overman and Shipley don't dwell long on the records they're making at Manas. They're acutely aware of the sacrifices being made by their fellow service members in Afghanistan.

"No sense resting on our laurels when there are new ones to set," said Chief Master Sgt. Pamela Lane, 376th Expeditionary Maintenance Group superintendent. "A lot of folks are banking on these Airmen to give 100 percent everyday out on the line. We know we're helping keep the sound of freedom overhead."