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U.S. Air Forces Central

Thirty-three years later, E-3 Sentry still going strong

Staff Sgt. Joshua Gotbaum, E-3 Sentry aerospace propulsion technician with the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Sentry aircraft maintenance unit, checks the engine of an E-3 during operations on the flightline for the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing at a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia on March 23, 2010. Sergeant Gotbaum is deployed from the 552nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., and his hometown is Miami, Fla. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol/Released)

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Photo essay: Sentry maintenance Airmen recover E-3 in Southwest Asia

Published March 23, 2010
By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Thirty-three years after the Air Force received its first E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft, maintenance Airmen continue to keep the aircraft ready for combat missions at a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia on March 23, 2010.

The first of the Air Force's E-3s were sent to the 552nd Air Control Wing at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., on March 23, 1977. Although that is history, look through this photo essay to see how Sentry maintainers continue to keep the aircraft going in a deployed environment 33 years later.

Click here to see the Slideshow.

380AEW Article

Thirty-three years later, E-3 Sentry still going strong