906th ARS crew chief earns award while deployed

Photo By Senior Airman Elise Stout | Staff Sgt. Kenneth Baque, a member the 126th Maintenance Group, guides Staff Sgt. Mark Trapp, a crew chief for the 906th Air Refueling Squadron, toward the pivot point for the aircraft tow vehicle in preparation to move a KC-135R Stratotanker on Scott Air Force Base, Ill., March 5, 2013. The aircraft was being positioned appropriately on the flightline to undergo a few scheduled and routine inspections. The 906 ARS is an Active Associate squadron of the 126th Air Refueling Wing, Illinois Air National Guard, and is comprised of Active Duty Air Force members. (National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Elise Stout)  

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, IL, UNITED STATES

03.14.2013

Story by Airman 1st Class Jacob Eckhardt 

375th Air Mobility Wing

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. - Staff Sgt. Mark Trapp, 906th Air Refueling Squadron crew chief, didn't join the Air Force to earn awards; he just does his job to the best of his ability day in and day out.

After 10 years, his hard work and dedication was recognized when he returned from a four month deployment and was presented with the Chief Master Sgt. Thomas N. Barnes Award.

"This is the first time in my Air Force career that I have won anything," he said.

The award is given annually toairmen that the Air Force Association recognizes with the most significant contribution to the Air Force mission. Base-level military and civil service aircraft crew chiefs, regardless of Air Force Specialty Code are eligible for this award.

Trapp said the hardest part was setting himself apart from the thousands of other crew chiefs in the Air Force. In most locations the crew chiefs have roughly 35 aircraft in their care leaving them with plenty of opportunity to excel. The 126th Air Refueling Wing has nine KC-135Rs, so the scope of responsibility is significantly different.

However, during his recent deployment he off-loaded 96 million pounds of fuel, generated 1,800 sorties and detected and repaired 15 major defects in the area of responsibility tanker fleet.

One of the biggest defects he discovered and fixed was on a $30 million jet that wasn't scheduled for take off for another two to three days. The jet was being filled with fuel when he noticed a problem.

"A few more thousand pounds of fuel and that plane would have been sitting on its back end," he said. "It would have eliminated a whole asset for the AOR. We had to take care of that quickly."

Trapp said he learned a lot of good tricks of the trade from the guardsmen he works with.

"You can learn anything and everything you want to know about your aircraft from the guard airmen," he said. "They have been doing it for 30 some odd years. When you're in an active duty squadron, the active duty airmen work on the aircraft for 20 years or so, but then they get moved to an office, so you don't get much of an opportunity to pick their brain."

Some of the tricks that took him years to learn have become second nature to the staff sergeant.

"Keep your eyes and ears open at all times," he said. "Learn as much as you can from everybody that works around you."

Master Sgt. Albern Warren, 906th Air Refueling Wing flight chief, works alongside Trapp day-by-day as his supervisor and as a co-worker, and noticed the hard work he put into his career.

Warren said, "I would take 20 more airmen like him. Trapp makes my job easier, because I know when I give him a task I don't have to worry about it getting done. He is definitely deserving of this award."

• Date Taken: 03.14.2013
• Date Posted: 03.14.2013 11:22
• Story ID: 103470
• Location: SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, IL, US