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Kickin' gas and launching refuelers

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Chuck Broadway
  • 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force - Iraq Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Sitting around, watching the news and joking with each other to pass a few minutes are maintainers from the 340th Expeditionary Aircraft Refueling Squadron at Detachment 4. Their shift is almost complete, yet they know there's one more plane scheduled to launch before the job is done.

The phone rings and Staff Sgt. Alan Peterson, an instrument flight control specialist from Salem, Ore., answers. After a 30 second brief, he latches the phone back to the wall and shouts "let's go!" Like a team of firefighters, five crew members spring into action and load into their vehicle within 20 seconds.

Upon arrival to the KC-135 Stratotanker scheduled for launch, no orders are given and no commands shouted. Everyone already knows their job and they trust each other to perform with excellence.
"It's a lot easier working with the same guys from home base," Senior Airman Binh Martz, an aircraft hydraulics journeyman from Harrisburg, Pa., said. "You sometimes don't even have to talk to each other to understand what you need to do."

Many of the 340th EARS maintenance professionals, as well as their commander, are deployed from McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. Their familiarity with each other allows for a smoother performance on the flight line.

"These guys are phenomenal and are willing to take that extra step to make sure we get the gas where it needs to be," said Maj. Patrick Smith, 340th EARS Det. 4 commander and KC-135 pilot.
Maj. Smith said he's never seen operations personnel and maintainers work so closely together.

"It's been an eye-opener to work with these guys and learn from both sides what it takes," the major said. "Typically, operations and maintenance aren't integrated."

The trust between these maintenance professionals carries over to the pilots who board the plane. As one pilot performs a final inspection before takeoff, another communicates with Senior Airman David Manning, a jet engine mechanic from Poultney, Vt., to check the function of flaps, spoilers and other controls.

Once the final thumbs up is given, the pilot is marshaled out by one of the maintainers and following a sharp salute, the plane is off and the maintainers have completed another successful mission.

"Now the pilots can fly and refuel bombers, fighters and keep everybody on the ground alive and take out as many bad guys as possible." said Airman Manning. "We have a really important job as far as making sure the aircraft is working properly."

In addition to communicating and performing inspections with pilots, they also help load equipment onto the aircraft so it's available upon return, or arrival at its next destination.
"These guys do a great job especially out here," said Capt. Dan Fenwick, a KC-135 pilot deployed from McConnell AFB. "The weather isn't easy on them either, the sand is blowing through them and it's so hot out here. They do their best and the jets are ready to go."

Captain Fenwick said the working relationship between maintainers, pilots and other aircraft is a support structure that cannot stand without all the pieces in place.

"It's like a pyramid; we're all standing on each other's shoulders," the Omaha, Neb. native said. "We can't go anywhere if (the maintainers) can't finish their job. If we can't go anywhere then the fighters can't get their gas, and the convoys don't have over watch."

Major Smith said the maintainers are enabling the tanker pilots to do their mission, which allows the fighters or mobility aircraft the ability to accomplish their specific mission.

"If you take any part of this process away, none of it would be possible," he said. "They're key players to make sure we get bombs on target or protect a convoy going from point A to point B or protect other troops on the ground."

Working long hours with such a small group of co-workers can be tough for some. However the maintainers look at it positively and use their downtime to build rapport and chemistry.

Airman Manning said the group all knows each other pretty well. Chemistry is everything and if a team can't work together and communicate, there's a lot of stuff that could be missed and it would cause problems.

Airman Martz added that working so closely with a team can not only help on the job, but build long-lasting friendships among colleagues.

"You see a lot of people day in and day out four to six months, maybe longer, and you really get to know them," said Airman Martz. "You see their up and down days and when they're having trouble back home. Some of my best friends are 10 years older than me and have families, but being out here you just feel a lot closer."

Martz said being deployed gives him a great deal of satisfaction knowing the missions he and his team complete missions that contribute to the overall effort.

"There's a lot of hard work and long days but it's a really good time," Martz said. "Some people think we're just fixing planes that refuel other planes but if you think about it, this plane is keeping a fighter or bomber in the air longer. When people on the ground need help, the planes are right there to give them air support and that's the great thing about our job. I can look back when I'm 80 years old and know I did a good thing at some point in my life that helped in the grander scheme of things."

The grander scheme of things is something all of the detachment members take into consideration.

"Considering the flight time, we are saving the American public millions of dollars and it's awesome to be able to support the fight and do it really sufficiently," Major Smith said.

The members of Detachment 4 give 24-hour coverage to keep planes in the air. By keeping the bombers and fighters refueled, troops on the ground know that within minutes someone could be there to help save a life.