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Runway repair team keeps airlift moving at 386th AEW

  • Published
  • By Maj. Dale Greer
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Senior Airman Jacob Cleer wrestles his 30-pound jackhammer into place and begins pounding the pavement on Runway 30 Right, one of two landing strips at an undisclosed air base here.

Chunks of concrete fly into the air as the steel-tipped chisel digs into the tarmac, demolishing a patch of runway that had begun to crumble a few days earlier.

Airman Cleer, a heavy equipment operator assigned to the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, finishes the job with one final burst and looks down the runway at the half-dozen other sections he is scheduled to excavate today. Each of the crumbling patches, called a spall, is riddled with fractured concrete that could damage an aircraft during takeoffs and landings if not repaired soon.

Behind him, Airman Cleer's coworkers on the 386th ECES Runway Repair Team are busily mixing a cement-like mortar to pour into the holes he's making. They'll patch the voids with a form of concrete that cures rapidly so the runway can reopen in just three hours.

"There's always more work to do, fixing these spalls," Airman Cleer said, rubbing his arm after several minutes of excavation. "The jackhammer sends vibrations through your whole body, and your elbows get pretty sore after a few hours. But you get used to it. And this mission is the reason I'm here. We've gotta maintain."

And so they do -- every Friday morning for the past six months, when Airman Cleer and his teammates first arrived in the U.S. Central Command Area of Operations. In those six months, the "Dirt Boyz" of the 386th ECES have repaired hundreds of spalls by pouring more than 180 cubic feet of fresh mortar.

The five-man team executed it's mission like a carefully choreographed NASCAR pit crew the morning of Dec. 10, digging out spalls, vacuuming the runway, pouring freshly mixed mortar and trowelling it smooth before moving on to the next patch.

The main imperative is speed, explained Capt. Jason Adams, chief of operations for the 386th ECES.

"The runway is obviously a mission-essential asset, but we have to close it to conduct repair work," Captain Adams said. "Even though we have two runways here, we work pretty rapidly so no runway has to be closed for an extended period of time. Our shop can do up to 20 patches in a single four-hour period, and the runway is available for use a few hours after that."

Spalls pose a very real danger to aircraft here, where thousands of take-offs and landings happen annually as part of 'round-the-clock airlift operations at the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing.

The wing operates the primary airlift hub for coalition forces in Iraq and provides theater airlift services across Southwest Asia. Home to more than 2,000 Airmen, the 386th AEW has transported more than 500,000 troops and civilians so far this year and airlifts approximately 3,000 tons of cargo per month aboard C-130 and C-17 aircraft.

"The biggest threat that spalls pose to heavy aircraft like C-130s and C-17s is tire damage, which can be pretty dangerous during landings," Captain Adams said. "Other aircraft are much lower to the ground and can actually suck lose concrete into the engines during takeoffs and landings, causing millions of dollars in damage."

Preventing that kind of damage is the main point of runway repair, he noted, but the Dirt Boyz' true impact is much broader.

"Our runways are where the rubber meets the road," Captain Adams explained. "Without them, the wing wouldn't be able to conduct its airlift mission. So runway repair is about more than simply preventing aircraft damage from lose concrete. It's also about keeping our runways in serviceable condition, so they can stay operational and the wing can continue to support the fight throughout the AOR."

Staff Sgt. Brandon Terhune, another heavy equipment operator and runway repair specialist in the 386th ECES, said he and his teammates draw a tremendous amount of satisfaction from that.

"It's a great feeling to know that what we're doing is making a real difference in the mission of this wing every day," he said. "We do our jobs very well, and I know I sleep better at night because of that."

For more photos, view the slideshow.