Photo By Tech. Sgt. Mozer Da Cunha | A B-52 Stratofortress taxis on the flightline during a Quick Regeneration Exercise at...... read more read more
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BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. – The mid-afternoon Louisiana sun beams down, heating up the flight line. Cautiously, the Airmen observe the sky; as the giant approaches, the Airmen prepare their gear. Tires hit the runway, smoke billows and with the tug of a lever, a drag chute deploys. The Airmen begin their work like a pit-crew, inspecting systems, refueling the aircraft and checking components. Every step of the way they tweak and adapt tasks, developing skills crucial to the mission.
By exercising quick regeneration capabilities, maintainers from the 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Unit at Barksdale Air Force Base ensure the B-52 Stratofortresses are ready to deter enemies and assure allies anytime, anywhere.
“The key desired result from these exercises is mission readiness,” said Master Sgt. David Gibson, 20th AMU production superintendent. “Quick regeneration is done in special situations where the aircraft needs to be armed at one location, take-off and perform standby duties at another. Ultimately, that’s what our maintainers are doing. By performing both post and pre-flight maintenance tasks at the same time, the aircraft can be mission ready in less than three hours.”
In the past, these Quick Regeneration Exercises were only performed at select bases, requiring Barksdale Airmen to travel to acquire this skill-set.
“We can keep our people up-to-date with quick regeneration tasks by
running these exercises here,” said Staff Sgt. Michael Nichols, 20th AMU
crew chief. “It allows us to prepare for this mission anywhere in the world.
Right now the exercise is contained within the 2nd Maintenance Group, but
eventually, we will bring in other agencies such as 2nd Security Forces, the
Operations Group and command post.”
Performing the training here at Barksdale provides more Airmen an opportunity to learn.
“At this phase, we are running short duration drills for the quick regeneration
procedure,” Nichols said. “It’s not as long as the ones we run at other
bases so that we can do it more often. Making the exercise shorter allows for more
rotations, allowing more Airmen to swap in and observe how the tasks are
performed.”
During the exercise, multiple shops within the Maintenance Group performed
their tasks together, reducing the time needed to get the aircraft mission
ready.
“More than 20 Airmen from various agencies on base were working on the flightline during the exercise,” Gibson said. “Some of the tasks performed included re-installing a drag parachute, on-site systems inspections, refueling and engine maintenance.”
The exercise provided maintainers with a safe environment to run drills that require
a higher sense of caution and attention to detail.
“One of the things we focused on at this stage was the speed in which our
Airmen performed these advanced skill-sets,” Nichols said. “Another concept
we focused on was the two-person concept, meaning always having
another Airman within line of sight while performing tasks and completing
day-to-day tasks.”
While currently only phase one has been implemented, plans are in motion to
continue developing Barksdale’s Airmen for real-world scenarios.
“Each new quick regeneration phase we implement will build upon the last,” Gibson said. “The quick regeneration of the aircraft is only one aspect of the process. The goal here is to keep evolving and growing, one phase at a time.”
Development of a quick regeneration capability aims to improve
Barksdale’s effectiveness in accomplishing its deterrence and assurance
mission.
“We never know what a combatant commander or the President of the United States will require of us,” Gibson said. “We need to be ready for both conventional and nuclear missions at all times. This specific skill-set will allow us to maintain a posture for response anywhere on the globe.”
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2017 10:39 |
| Story ID: | 225327 |
| Location: | BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, LA, US |
| Web Views: | 151 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, All Systems Go: Barksdale maintainers hone aircraft quick regeneration skills, by TSgt Mozer Da Cunha, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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