Southwest Asia --
(Editor’s note: Due to safety and security reasons,
last names and unit designators were removed.)
At the beginning of each shift, Staff Sgt. Oren grabs
a pair of green and orange foam hearing protection packaged in a little white
box; he rolls them in to a fine point and puts them in his ears.
His hands, still covered from oil residue and grime
from yesterday’s shift, reach in his pockets for a pair of sunglasses. He puts
them on and begins the grueling walk across the flight line in temperatures
reaching 120 degrees.
“The walk to jets are long, especially in the heat, but
it’s for a bigger cause,” said Sgt. Oren, Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance
Squadron STRIKE dedicated crew chief. “When you make that walk, you’re not just
going out to fix jets or put them in the air. You’re going out to do what you
signed up for--to provide comfort and security to others who need it.”
The heat is unrelenting, but it’s not enough to stop
Sgt. Oren or his fellow maintainers from launching F-15E Strike Eagle combat
sorties over Iraq and Syria, degrading and defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant forces.
“The heat gets to everyone, it’s hot. But that’s
something we have to deal with. We aren’t going to stop because of it,” said Sgt.
Oren, a native of Columbia, South Carolina. “Our mission is to provide air
power. It may be harsh out there, but someone has to do it.”
Sgt. Oren and his team perform multiple launches
every day. Maintaining the F-15E requires hard work and dedication. It’s a
mission the Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron takes seriously.
“There are two souls in the cockpit. There’s an
extra dimension of importance knowing you have a responsibility to them,” said MSgt
Joshua, EAMXS STRIKE aircraft section chief. “The aircrew has to have
confidence and faith that the work and time we’ve put in maintaining the aircraft
is going to get them there and back safely.”
“We fix the jets so those targets in Southwest Asia
can be hit,” he added.
The F-15E is a dual-role fighter designed to perform
air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. The Strike Eagle has been a juggernaut
throughout Operation INHERENT RESOLVE, enabling coalition forces to drop over
4,700 munitions combating ISIL.
“The F-15 is the most versatile aircraft in the area
of responsibility; we do a lot of the heavy lifting,” said Sgt. Oren. “We love seeing
the jet come back with fewer bombs than when it takes off.”
“It makes us feel accomplished. We’re doing our
part, our mission, to degrade ISIL,” he added.
At home station these war machines typically fly between
two and three hour sorties. Here, they’re flying missions three times longer. Lengthier
sorties compounded with harsh conditions such as heat and sand can take its
toll on the aircraft.
It’s maintainers like Sgt. Oren, who help keep these
aircraft ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
“The operations tempo puts a lot more on us; at home
(station) you’re training all year, and when you deploy it’s the big game,”
said Sgt. Oren. “Those jets are traveling a long way to secure our country’s
future. The maintenance has to get done and that’s what drives us out here.”
The STRIKE maintainers are always ready, walking the
line; pouring their blood, sweat, and tears in to a mission that requires
excellence and commitment in an environment that is unforgiving.
“I’m very proud of my guys. Their quality assurance
pass rate has been remarkable; for the past two months it’s been above 90%,”
said MSgt Joshua. “To be able to kick it up a notch in the heat, humidity,
longer hours, not to mention other detractors like being away from your family
... these guys work their fingers to the bone. It makes me proud to see the
work they’ve done.”
The quality of work the maintainers perform exemplifies
the reason they are here; to make this part of the world a better place, to
strike down evil when no one else can.
“We’re not just turning wrenches, we’re turning
wrenches for something bigger than ourselves,” said Sgt. Oren. “Hopefully if someone
sees what we’re doing out here, it’ll inspire them to do the same and make a
difference. That’s what I think crew chiefs do--make a difference.”