Stay frosty: HVAC repair team keeps Marauders cool

Published Aug. 17, 2012
By Capt. Ken Scholz
386th Air Expeditionary Wing

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- The day's forecast high is 121 degrees with no humidity and 20 knots of blowing sand--another typical day at the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, where the "Marauders" generate regional airpower all day, every day. But what happens when the air conditioning goes out?

Master Sergeant Thomas McDew, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Superintendent at the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron, answers the call.

"In the summertime there's a 100 percent demand on the [air conditioning] units. The wind, sand and heat are all challenges," said McDew, who oversees and assigns work orders to his 13-Airmen shop.

The HVAC Airmen perform the critical mission of maintaining, servicing and replacing air conditioning units throughout the 386th AEW. The team works 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A safety brief is performed at 12:30 p.m. daily. The safety brief reminds the team to practice operational risk management during their constant efforts to provide A/C throughout the wing. It also serves to "give them a lull from the high heat of the day," McDew explained.

The break is certainly deserved for the team, receiving an average of 15 service calls a day and 450 service requests in a month.

"The average A/C service call is completed in under 24 hours," said Lt. Col. Kyle Brown, 386 Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron commander.

All calls here are treated as urgent, Brown said. "People simply cannot operate in this environment without an opportunity to cool down."

The unique team, made up almost entirely of Air National Guard personnel from Savannah, Ga., and Puerto Rico, face unique challenges here.

Heat and dust are some of the primary culprits for HVAC units' malfunction but proper care can mitigate damage from these formidable challenges.

"The abundance of dust in the area further reduces their operating capacity," Brown said. "That is why the units demand a higher-than-normal replacement and preventive maintenance rate. This is why proper care, to include weekly filter cleaning, is so important," he added.

McDew also recommended keeping the A/C unit temperature setting at 21-22 degrees Celsius. Setting the temperature too low can cause malfunctions.

"Back home if you need a part you can always run down to the shop and get it. Here it takes more pre-planning. Material control and base contracting help us out with that," said McDew, stating that keeping the 386th's HVAC units up and running is truly a team effort from many different shops around base.

"It's not just us," McDew said. "It's the whole support structure within the CE squadron. The folks that answer the phone--they're a strong bunch. They do a real good job."

Aside from HVAC units, McDew's team also maintains base refrigeration systems, critical for dining facility and mortuary affairs efforts.

With a handful of these professionals, the HVAC shop works 24/7 to meet our customers' needs, Brown said.

But the aspect of the job that keeps McDew going every day? "Our crews," he said. "We have a great crew. They come in every day ready to go to provide the base with air conditioning."