Photo By Staff Sgt. Julio Olivencia Jr | A dump truck from the 105th Civil Engineer Squadron, drives past a C-17 Globemaster...... read more read more
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Crew chiefs assigned to the 105th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron here had a huge task ahead of them when they reported for work Feb. 8.
The Airmen were notified that they would be supporting a visit from Vice President of the United States Michael R. Pence.
Stewart Air National Guard Base is often used as a transit point for distinguished visitors to the area, but it’s not often that someone like the vice president flies into the base.
Senior Master Sgt. Tim Barrett, 105th AMXS flight chief, said his squadron treats each aircraft coming in the same, but there are special considerations, particularly with security, that necessitates flexibility when the president or vice president fly into the base.
“There’s just a lot of curve balls,” Barrett said. “We don’t know what’s going to be thrown our way.”
The crew chiefs of the 105th AMXS are responsible for making sure the 105th Airlift Wing’s fleet of C-17s are ready to fly when called upon. This includes servicing, maintaining, and deicing the aircraft to make sure they can safely fly.
“Even though the airplane isn’t flying at a specific moment doesn’t mean we shut the plane down and walk away,” Barrett said. “There are constant inspections going on—there’s constant upkeep.”
The crew chiefs are the first and last faces an aircrew sees from the 105th Airlift Wing as they marshal the aircraft to and from a parking spot on the ramp.
A C-17 Globemaster III loaded with support personnel and equipment arrived on March 8 and began preparing for Pence’s arrival on Air Force Two the following day.
Then the snow began to fall.
The region was hammered with a snow storm overnight and there was no sign of it letting up by the morning of March 9.
Barrett said the snow added another layer of stress, but his crew chiefs never shy from a challenge.
“Despite what’s going on outside with the snow and everything, we know what we have to do and you go out there and you get it done,” Barrett said.
The snow finally slowed down in the late afternoon, shortly before Pence’s arrival.
Airman 1st Class Domenic Bellacicco, a traditional guardsman just five months on the job, volunteered to come in and help out.
He had no idea at the time that he would be marshaling in Air Force Two.
“I got here and they said, ‘alright go get your vest and wands, you’re going to marshal the plane in,” Bellacicco said. “I was in complete shock, I had no idea that was going to happen.”
Bellacicco wasn’t alone. He had plenty guidance from his training NCO who advised him of the intricacies of backing in a large plane on a ramp covered in snow and ice.
“At first it was a little nerve wracking, it’s a completely different plane from the C-17,” Bellacicco said, “but once you’re out there it’s all about going back to fundamentals.”
Tech. Sgt. Eric Lutz, a crew chief assigned to the 105th AMXS, said the squadron does a great job pairing experienced NCOs with new Airmen to mentor and train them.
“It makes it a lot easier for a young Airman to have the confidence to block in the vice president of the United States,” Lutz said.
The crew chiefs then got busy deicing the support C-17, so it could depart, while simultaneously preparing for Pence to return so they could get his plane off the ground and clearing snow for the support vehicles.
Then came the call that one of the 105th Airlift Wing’s own C-17 needed to land.
With the 105th Civil Engineer Squadron busy getting ahead of the snow, which they had been tirelessly removing since the early hours of the morning, crew chiefs scrambled and used pick-up trucks to clear a space for the cargo plane to park.
Tech. Sgt. Lutz said he welcomes days like March 9, because, while chaotic, they give him and the other crew chiefs perspective.
“You can lose track of what is big in the world,” Lutz said. “You realize that you really are just on part of a big machine.”
| Date Taken: | 03.21.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.21.2017 12:12 |
| Story ID: | 227540 |
| Location: | NEWBURGH, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 486 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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