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Getting dirty with aircraft ground equipment

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Clinton Atkins
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
Southwest Asia --  Like abstract art on a canvas, the sweat and grease on Airmen in a Southwest Asia shop paint a tale of hard work and sacrifice and give a glimpse into the mania behind a never-ending maintenance endeavor. 

The 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron Aircraft Ground Equipment shop here maintains a multitude of support equipment such as generators, air conditioning carts, bomb lifts and mobile light units used by the aircraft maintenance units. 

"Our mission is to support the maintainers on the flight line with whatever they need," said Staff Sgt. Charles Hatton, AGE mechanic, deployed from McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. "We work on all of the support equipment that is required for aircraft maintenance actions, from generators to supply power to air compressors for pneumatic tools." 

With a crew of 75, AGE maintains approximately 600 pieces of equipment. Currently, the shop is averaging more than 300 dispatches, 45 maintenance actions, 120 service inspections and 15 periodic inspections per day. 

"We see every piece of equipment twice per year for inspections," said Senior Airman Juan Ramirez, AGE mechanic, deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. 

Dressed in dirty coveralls and once-tan boots, staying clean in the AGE shop is not an option for the mechanics as they apply elbow grease to troubleshoot an array of mechanical issues. The kind of filth they get into usually depends on the climate. 

"It depends on the time of the year," said Sergeant Hatton, a native of Campton, Ky. "In the summertime the air conditioners break because it gets so hot here. When we start to get into the colder weather the high humidity and dew mess with the electronics. It varies from season to season." 

Some equipment doesn't need help from the weather to break, said Airman Ramirez, a native of El Paso, Texas. 

"We are always seeing bomb lifts," he said. "A hydraulic pump will go out or something minor will break. But no matter how minor, it has to be fixed because they carry bombs."
In their line of work, the AGE mechanics have to be proficient in multiple skills. 

"We have to know about the hydraulics, electronics, pneumatics, Freon, fuel and oil," Sergeant Hatton said. "We also have to know how to rebuild engines and take them apart. You name it, we fix it." 

The AGE mechanics all come from different bases supporting different airframes, which is ultimately a blessing in disguise. 

It's the AGE shop's greatest flaw and advantage, he said. 

"We all have different weakness and strengths," Sergeant Hatton said. "That's how we come together as a shop. If someone doesn't know about a certain piece of equipment there's always someone here who came from a different base that did have that equipment. We always try to learn from one another to better ourselves." 

When Sergeant Hatton, who is from a KC-135 Stratotanker base, works on bomber equipment he will often seek guidance from Airman Ramirez, who is from a B-1 base. The separation in rank is not a factor when mission success is on the line. 

"He teaches me just as much as I teach him," Sergeant Hatton said. 

Reinforcing an on-the-job training atmosphere has paid dividends to the AGE shop resulting in an increase in proficiency. Their current overall in-commission rate is greater than 88 percent. 

"It's a big challenge to keep everything working," he said. "All of the equipment that comes in needs to be fixed yesterday." 

Doing the job efficiently and effectively means getting dirty most of the time, Sergeant Hatton said. 

"We try to stay as clean as we possibly can, but everyone knows it isn't going to happen," Sergeant Hatton said. "At the end of the day when we're at the arm scrubber we talk about what we did during the day and how we got so dirty. 

"I enjoy getting dirty," he said. "You get that sense of accomplishment at the end of the day when you are covered in filth. You can change out an engine and you'll be covered head to toe. It's a visual measure of accomplishment." 

AGE mechanics have a love-hate relationship with their job. Though they are a major component in the maintenance arena, equipment seems to be only temporarily fixed. 

"I love to watch a piece of equipment that I fixed get towed out to the flight line, but in my head I know I'm eventually going to see that piece of equipment again for a different problem if not for the same one," said Airman Ramirez. "Our work here is never finished. All we can do is try to stay ahead."