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380AEW Article

On the Job

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Russ Scalf
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Opportunity is often limited only by one's willingness to ask for it. Senior Airman James Jenkins, a 380th Civil Engineer Squadron heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration journeyman, recently learned that lesson when he extended an invitation for the wing commander to join him for a day on the job.

On July 23rd, Jenkins found himself seated with Brig. Gen. John T. Quintas during the monthly birthday celebration dinner. While many young Airmen may have been nervous or intimidated around the wing commander, Jenkins used the candid setting to seek answers to several questions. Ultimately, he invited the general to experience a day on the job as an HVAC technician.

With the temperature blazing into triple digits and a heat index over 120 degrees, Quintas put on his work gloves and joined Jenkins and Staff Sgt. Franklin Sallis for a first-hand look at what it takes to keep the base cool. This is a recount of the day's events:

0945: Senior Airman Jenkins and Staff Sgt. Sallis depart civil engineering for headquarters to pick up Brig. Gen. Quintas.

1000: Team arrives at HVAC shop for a safety briefing, summary of HVAC's mission and a description of the day's objectives.

Senior Airman Jenkins - "At the safety briefing we spoke about safety gear and personal protective equipment. We discussed what would be worn on a job site and why that gear is necessary."

Staff Sgt. Sallis - "The PPE is important because we use equipment like pressure washers to clean air conditioners. They could injure you or you can get things in your eyes, that's why eyewear is so important."

1020: The team arrives at the job site and conducts a site survey. Jenkins and Sallis explain the chilled water systems and common repair issues.

Senior Airman Jenkins - "What we normally do as the chiller crew is check all of the facilities when we first arrive and make sure everything is up and running."

Staff Sgt. Sallis - "Our main objective is to make sure the chillers stay running. If any of them aren't running, it can affect the flying mission drastically, so that's why we do our check every morning."

1040: Work begins on the installation of a chilled water pump.

Senior Airman Jenkins - "The job of the day was to install a backup pump for chiller three, which supports hangar four. For me, having the general out there was like having any other HVAC member out there. We were there to complete our mission, do our job and get it done as fast as possible."

Staff Sgt. Sallis - "Having the general there was pretty cool. I've never experienced something like that in my career and I've been in 10 years. We had one issue that came up but we were able to correct that when we returned from lunch."

1115: Work stops and the team returns to CE to accomplish a secondary objective.

1135: Team arrives at dormitory units to perform preventative maintenance on air conditioning units.

Senior Airman Jenkins - "We arrived at the dorms to conduct preventative maintenance; we had to pressure wash the condensers. What that does is provide efficient air conditioning to the dorm residents. All in all, what the general did was to make about 60 residents happy in about 15 minutes, because their units were putting out more efficient air."

Staff Sgt. Sallis - "What the general did was eliminate possible future jobs by doing the preventative maintenance. Many of our jobs can be eliminated simply by washing the outdoor units."

1215: Objective complete, the team breaks for lunch at Oasis Dining Facility.

Senior Airman Jenkins - "Lunch didn't happen immediately. As a general he was still concerned about other things; when we went inside of the dining facility we took a look at an issue with the air conditioning there. We went into the attic to look at one of our systems and explain why it was so hot. Then, we got lunch to go and went back to the shop. Normally at lunch time everyone is exhausted, and I think he was just as tired as us. "

Staff Sgt. Sallis - "I know Jenkins played a little ping pong with the general, but other than that we just watched part of a movie. When that was wrapping up I looked for a part that we needed and that was pretty much it. I think everyone was a little bit surprised, they didn't expect him to be coming to the shop at lunch."

1300: The team departs CE to complete the chilled water pump installation.

Senior Airman Jenkins - "We had to finish tightening down the pump and hooking up the electrical component so the pump could run. Nothing ever goes according to plan. We didn't have fuses, but we managed to find some and get the pump up and running. We got it done."

Staff Sgt. Sallis - "It was pretty evident the general wanted to see a finished product and I was very happy that we were able to provide that to him, he worked hard."

1415: Mission complete; the team packs its tools, cleans the job site and returns to headquarters.

Senior Airman Jenkins - "As a worker, the general was pretty amazing," said Jenkins. "Having him out there we could have downplayed what was going on and treaded lightly, but he was out there working and he got just as dirty as we did. He was out there to complete the mission. As a three-year Airman, I've never seen a leader come out and actually experience what we do. A lot of times people don't really understand what we do as HVAC."

Staff Sgt. Sallis - "I recall when we were installing the pump he had a pipe wrench in his hand and I tried to show him what to do," said Sallis. "I reached for the pipe wrench, put my hand on it and he was not going to give it to me. It just showed that he was really involved and wanted to learn what we do every day. He really was one of us today. We were listening to 80's music in the truck and he just made us feel really comfortable. I'm glad that Senior Airman Jenkins asked the general to join us, we were able to show him what we do on a daily basis. Hopefully he has a better understanding of what civil engineering does as a whole."

Brig. Gen. Quintas - "I think first and foremost, we all understand it's hot out there. But until you get out there and work in it, like we did for four hours, you don't have a true appreciation for the challenges that those guys face. We changed a water pump and we cleaned out some air conditioning units for preventative maintenance. We had a long work day and I developed a real appreciation for how hard our Airmen are working out there in that environment. Secondly, it was very inspiring for me, to be honest. They got such satisfaction out of fixing a unit and knowing that an Airman was going to come back from work that day, go into their room and their air conditioning was going to be fixed. It was very inspiring for me to be a part of."

"One thing I learned was how technically competent and intelligent our Airmen are at what we ask them to do. Staff Sgt. Sallis and Senior Airman Jenkins know an incredible amount about air conditioning, electrical and all the things they need to do every day. I can't wait to get out there with the rest of the Airmen on this base and continue to be impressed by how bright, intelligent and hardworking all of our Airmen are. I look forward to getting out around the base again."