Airmen instruct Afghans to complete rotary wing advising mission

Published July 21, 2011
By Capt. Jamie Humphries
438th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A team of advisers from maintenance units across the Air Force have converged here not only to teach Afghans how to maintain their aircraft, but to prepare trainers themselves to carry on the mission with little or no oversight.

Meet the trainers of the 440th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron.

These Airmen work daily at the Afghan air force compound at Kabul International Airport, Afghanistan, to instruct Afghan maintainers on the fine art of maintaining the Afghan Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters. Although Afghans have been flying and training in the aircraft for the last 30 years, the Airmen and coalition partners continue to familiarize the AAF on the intricacies of maintenance requirements of the helicopter in order to prepare them for future battlefield mobility.

The Mi-17 is a transport helicopter that has the ability to conducted distinguished visitor transport, medical and casualty evacuation, battlefield mobility, cargo airlift, reconnaissance, rotary-wing training and close air support. It has a service ceiling of more than 16,000 feet and can transport 24 passengers or 8,000 lbs. of cargo. On the other hand, the Mi-35 attack helicopter is a heavily-armored aircraft often called a "flying tank" for its durability and power. The Mi-35 is equipped with a 12.7 mm Yak-B Gatling gun and can carry up to four 57 mm KP, long-guided rocket pods with a total payload of 256 anti-tank rockets.

Coalition Support

Experts will agree, maintenance of the Mi-17s and Mi-35s could not be accomplished without the support of coalition partners. Hailing from Croatia, Czech Republic, Mongolia and Hungary, the teams are crucial to the mission for no reason other than they've been operating and maintaining the specific aircraft for more than 30 years and the partnered approach and ability to bring fresh talent to the mission enables the mission to continue despite little American AAF helicopter maintenance experience.

"Our coalition partners provide a technical expertise on Mi-17 and Mi-35 maintenance that is critical to our mission of training and mentoring," said Capt. Michael Bradley, of the 438th AEAG.

Conducting both classroom instruction and practical hands-on application, coalition partners work to provide knowledge on the aircraft engine, body and mechanical engineering. This specific knowledge and training was critical in helping AAF maintainers complete their first ever Mi-17 engine and body maintenance course in January. According to officials, on-the-job training coupled with classroom instruction, provides the background necessary for the AAF maintenance professionals to conduct blade alignment checks, rotor blade inspections, engine checks and routine maintenance exams among other things.

Advising Mission

A typical day begins with Afghans sharing some authentic chai tea with their counterparts. Afghans feel this exchange allows for the free flow of information and idea sharing necessary to work together to affect progress. During the morning discussions, one item of interest that continually arises is the AAF logistics chain. Advisers agree this area is one of their main challenges ... getting aircraft parts and the amount of time necessary compared to the U.S. Air Force chain. The logistics chain even impacts the basics such as paper and pens and with supplies averaging 14-18 months to arrive, things tend to slow down. According to Master Sgt. David Penisten of the 440th AEAS, another challenge is trying to teach Afghans to run an effective foreign-object damage program.

"We are trying to teach them (AAF) FOD accountability so we don't potentially damage the aircraft," said Penisten. "The Afghans were taught that soldiers will clean up once a week so FOD doesn't matter."

After the exchange of information and morning briefings, the advising team begins to work on their maintenance objectives for the day. Maintainers here will admit it's tough due to the lack of experience working on the specific AAF helicopters.

"At first, I thought I would struggle because I have never worked helicopters," said Penisten. "I've come to realize that most of these guys (AAF) have been working these helicopters 25 years or more and that makes my job really easy. I'm not teaching them specifics, I'm more guiding them down a different path of getting things done; most of the time they take my point of view into consideration."

The advisers throughout the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing will tell you the mission is demanding but unique and working with the Russian built Mi-17 and Mi-35 presents a challenge all to itself. The goal, say maintainers, is to help the AAF maintainers learn a little about their craft each day...to take baby steps. With many AAF members having worked on the aircraft for years already, coalition maintainers admit change happens slowly but assessing challenges and figuring out the best way forward is the challenge.

"Each day, I advise and mentor 45 Afghans on hourly inspections and heavy maintenance for Mi-17 and Mi-35 aircraft," said Penisten. "This entails maintenance issues as well as professionalization of their Air Force. We provide the inspection process for 100, 200 and 300-hour inspections for Kabul, Mazar-I-Sharif and Shindand aircraft, as well as Presidential Mi-17's in Kabul."

Working side-by-side, advising teams and AAF maintainers work daily to provide a fully-operational aircraft to aircrew in order to facilitate operational missions. The goal, explain experts, is to provide a safe and reliable helicopter that can be used in support of soldiers on the ground throughout Afghanistan.

Teams work in conjunction with their AAF partners pulling helicopters off of the flying schedule after a prescribed amount of flight hours for scheduled maintenance requirements. They also conduct oil and filter changes, lubrication of components and basic cleaning. Advisers say it's a very detailed process and if you can imagine routine maintenance on your vehicle ... this is what they do to an AAF helicopter.

By conducting preventive maintenance through inspections on the airframe and systems, teams hope to meet their goal. They also work with the AAF maintainers to remove, adjust and install parts on the aircraft and perform checks on parts to include the rotor, transmission and drive, landing gear, fuel, hydraulic and electrical systems.

"We guide them (AAF) through the process but we don't turn the wrenches for them," said Master Sgt. Rob Hindel, also of the 440th AEAS. "We watch and make sure they are following the proper technical data and they are being safe. We spend a lot of time talking to them (AAF) about how to improve their processes and speed up the inspections without sacrificing quality."

Afghan and Coalition Relationships

Ask any coalition member around the wing, and they will tell you first you must establish a relationship built on trust or the advising mission will not advance. It is no different in the 440th where members of the coalition spend hours at a time working closely with their counterparts. Coalition maintainers explained the relationship between them is one built on being a maintainer first then their friendship second which allows the teams to rely on each other more to complete their mission.

"We are showing the Afghans the importance of preventative maintenance, sound maintenance practices and how to manage their scheduled maintenance program," said Penisten.

Although the teams have limited supplies and tools, the AAF and coalition maintainers continue to make it work, said Penisten.

"The biggest thing I've learned is what the Afghans are really like," explained Penisten. They want peace for their country, but are skeptical about what can be done to achieve it."