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Nocturnal workers: Airmen keep the base mission going long after the sun goes down

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tarelle Walker
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  People seem to think that when they close their eyes at night, the rest of the base follows suit until morning, but that's not the case.

While we are comfy in our beds, the flightline is buzzing with activity and the mission is still well underway. Airmen in Southwest Asia are covered in sweat, loading bombs, fueling and fixing planes 24 hours a day to preserve our freedom.

"At night, the sun has burned off most of the humidity and isn't beating down on the [tankers] any more," said Staff Sgt. Chad Arrowsmith, a KC-135 crew chief deployed from Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D, who works noon to midnight each day.

After dark on the flightline, it's nice and peaceful, about 10 to 15 degrees cooler.

"I like working at night because during the day, the aircraft metal gets to be just like a hot tin roof - hard to touch without gloves," he said. "At night, though, visibility is less. So it's a trade-off."

The Airmen's hard work has nothing to do with recognition, said Airman 1st Class Ed Kovalcin, 37th Aircraft Maintenance Unit B-1 crew chief deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.

"This is what we do - no matter if we get recognition or not, we're out here for a job. When I see a jet take off, I see freedom. I know we did our job and the mission is successful," he said.

Most Air Force flightline operations are 24/7, and in a deployed environment it's no different, except the missions are real-world, said Tech. Sgt. David Algire, 37th AMU depot field team chief deployed from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.

"There are real bombs being dropped and lives being lost. We're taking the fight to the terrorists. We're trying to win this thing and make a better life at home for everybody," he said.

Escaping the heat seems to be the number one advantage of working at night. Cooler temperatures make higher morale almost effortless. The Airmen on the flightline work very hard without the benefit of an air conditioned office to shield them from the sun, but nevertheless they are extremely proud of what they do.

"At night, you can see the afterburners of the B-1s that are taking off," said Staff Sgt. David Nygaard , B-1 crew chief. "After a good, long day of work, it makes you feel like you made a difference in the world ... and you're glad you're not the Taliban."