Improved Inspection Process Increases Mission Capability

(UNDISCLOSED LOCATION)

04.07.2016

Story by Staff Sgt. Chad Warren 

380th Air Expeditionary Wing

SOUTHWEST ASIA –At an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, a small team of Airmen ensures the region’s premier fighter assets are ready to accomplish the mission at any time.
In an environment where every hour and every aircraft is critical, the 380th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron has managed to cut the time it takes to perform a phase inspection for the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter aircraft by more than half.
“As far as the strike mission goes, we are by far the busiest airframe,” said Tech. Sgt. Rodney, 380th EMXS Repair and Reclamation shift lead. “It is constant turnaround, it never stops.”
In order for the 380th AEW’s F-15s to remain combat ready they must undergo a mandatory phase inspection after accumulating a maximum of 400 flight hours. During these inspections, the maintainers remove the panels to check for damage to internal components, examine the aircraft framework for stress fractures and ensure the entire jet is structurally sound and safe for the pilots.
Since October 2015, Rodney and his team have reduced the time it takes to complete an F-15 phase inspection from 11 days to only four, he explained. In a combat environment, that time saved translates to more jets downrange and more bombs on target.
“As soon as they send us a jet, they are down a jet out there,” said Rodney. “The quicker we can turn them around and give them back to the flightline, the more capable jets they have to go and perform these missions.”
According to Rodney, the team had to overcome several challenges in order to bring down the inspection time. Learning to work in a new environment with new people was one issue facing the team. In addition, being in a deployed location means that replacement parts aren’t always on hand and must be ordered, and when new or unusual problems arise, the maintainers must contact the engineers back in the U.S. for answers. By working together and building a cohesive team throughout the deployment, the maintainers were able to overcome the challenges.
The increased inspection capability has had a significant, measurable impact on the mission effectiveness of the wing. The dramatic improvements by the phase shop have allowed our pilots to go above and beyond the milestones set by previous units, said Chief Master Sgt. Mike, 380th EMXS superintendent.
“Since this group has arrived we have dropped more than 2,600 bombs, and accumulated over 11,000 flying hours during our 1,600 combat sorties, all record numbers for a six-month period,” he added.
Breaking records in support of Operation Inherent Resolve places additional stress on the aircraft, making the inspection process even more vital to the continuing mission. According to Mike, one of the major differences between home station operations and deployed operations is how fast the aircraft accumulate flight hours.
“It takes only about four months to run off 400 hours in the AOR,” he said. “Back home, they’re usually flying about one and a half hours per day with a lot more aircraft to choose from. It could take two years before they run off those 400 hours.”
Although it is a highly demanding position, Rodney and his team are motivated to continue providing combat air power to the region.
“We try to get the jet as fully mission capable as possible to give it back to the flightline so they can utilize that aircraft,” he said. “We have lots of airframe hours and bad guys to silence.”
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• Date Taken: 04.07.2016
• Date Posted: 04.11.2016 02:14
• Story ID: 194970
• Location: (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION)