By 1st Lt. Daniel Ball
CAMP MARMAL, Afghanistan — Helicopters fly overhead. Two Apaches race off to respond to a request for help. A pair of Black Hawks appear over the horizon, heading home from dropping Soldiers off on a remote mountainside. This is part of the daily routine for the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. As the pilots return home and the crew chiefs begin to pour over the aircraft, the maintenance begins. Once the line units have exhausted their resources, they turn to the people who know the inner workings of these machines best—the Aviation Intermediate Maintenance Company of the 404th Aviation Support Battalion, ‘Providers.’
Every few hundred flight hours, Task Force Mustang, 4th CAB, must place its aircraft into a scheduled phase maintenance. This involves the Soldiers of 404th ASB tearing down the helicopter, inspecting the vital pieces, performing needed maintenance, and then completing a thorough test flight before returning the repaired helicopter to its owning unit.
This contract between the task force and the ‘Providers’ relies on careful coordination between the two units. TF Mustang commanders must carefully regulate flight hours in order to stagger the arrival of aircraft into 404th’s hangars. The ‘Providers’ must work quickly and efficiently on every helicopter that comes into phase so it can return to its unit and fulfill its mission.
Once an aircraft is received by the Providers, the clock begins ticking. Depending on the type of maintenance performed and inspection required, Blackhawks have either 10 or 14 days to come in the shop and leave again. Apaches are allotted 14 days and the Chinooks have a 24-day deadline. TF Mustang crew chiefs maintain a careful log of an aircraft’s issues so that 404th’s production control section can begin procuring parts and planning for the phase maintenance. One crew chief per helicopter then comes to work on the phase with the ‘Provider’ soldiers so they may gain a more intimate understanding of their aircraft.
More goes on behind the scenes than simple inspections and repairs. The back shops provide the heavy lifting necessary to nurse a broken helicopter back to health. Airframe repairers hammer out new sheet metal to cover holes; avionics soldiers troubleshoot radios; armament techs ensure the weapon systems work properly and engine shops personnel carefully take apart and reassemble the aircraft engines.
“Even though their military occupational specialties are so varied, the challenging nature of the work makes them want to learn each others’ jobs and cooperate for the greater good,” Army Sgt. 1st Class Todd Styles, the shop’s platoon sergeant, said.
All told, over 50 people have a direct hand in the completion of any aircraft phase. These types of assets aren’t available to TF Mustang on a normal basis, so the phase gives them a chance to address the little issues that can’t be taken care of normally.
With all these moving pieces, there must be someone overseeing the process. The members of the production control section coordinate the integration of the various back shops and maintenance personnel to effectively and efficiently work on every helicopter that arrives in the ‘Providers’ hangars.
“We try to forecast, in conjunction with Task Force Mustang, the exact time we should take in a phase. We coordinate a drop time and the allocation of resources needed for phase completion,” Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 James Johnson, officer in charge, 404th’s PC section, said. Together with TF Mustang’s PC office, led by Army Sgt. 1st Class Terry Rogers, they brainstorm the best way to accomplish the mission of providing combat support to the line units.
At the end of the day, ensuring their brothers and sisters in the skies always have serviceable aircraft to fly is the most important thing to the ‘Providers.’ It takes a great deal of planning, support, and dedication, but the soldiers of the 404th AVIM company relish the challenges provided to them.