Photo By Tech. Sgt. Micaiah Anthony | U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Justin Gestring, left, 67th Aircraft Maintenance Unit...... read more read more
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“This exchange was thought of between my commander and the 18th AMXS commander,” said Capt. Anthony Langdon, 18th SFS operations officer. “It’s a way to build a mutual partnership. Our jobs are intertwined when it comes to the safety of the flightline and the aircraft. This was just a good way of getting our Airmen together to understand each other’s role and how we can work together.”
The day started with defenders shadowing crew chiefs on the flightline where they learned the ins-and-outs of maintaining and launching Team Kadena’s F-15 Eagles.
“The person I was training responded extremely well,” said Airman 1st Class Allan Shipman, 44th Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief, proudly. “I showed him what to do ahead of time, quizzed him on it and made sure we were both safe. Then, in the end, we had a little fun martialing the jet out.”
On the other side of base, three crew chiefs from the 18th AMXS started their exchange with a taser demonstration One maintainer was bold enough to ride the lightning.
“Experiencing that and knowing it’s what the [defenders] have to go through to be qualified to carry a taser is amazing. I definitely enjoyed the unenjoyment of being tasered,” laughed Tech. Sgt. Justin Gestring, 67th Aircraft Maintenance Unit debrief NCOIC.
After the demonstration, the maintenance Airmen loaded up and headed to the military working dog kennels where they saw Team Kadena’s four legged defenders in action. The maintainers were forwarded another opportunity to not only witness the demonstration, but to take part in it as well.
To ensure everything went smoothly, several precautions were put in place.
“We wanted to make sure they were as safe as possible,” said Langdon. “We had multiple handlers available to help and we made sure the Airmen were suited up correctly for the bite demonstration.”
With the kennels in the rearview, the crew chiefs wrapped up the day by donning ballistic vests and hitting the streets of Kadena with response force Airmen.
“We drove around looking for seatbelt, cell phone and traffic violations,” said Senior Airman James Shanahan, 18th Security Forces response force leader. “I always like training new Airmen and meeting new people; it was a lot of fun.”
At the end of the duty day, both groups of Airmen were given the opportunity to gain valuable insight that could not only increase their respect for their fellow wingmen across the base and give them a deeper understanding that could help them in future leadership roles.
“Every person on this base is here for a reason and we are all equally as important,” said Langdon. “When you go and visit another unit or squadron, you have a deeper respect for what they do. If you understand the other functions in the wing then, as you go up in rank and move farther into other leadership positions, you have a better understanding of how to lead different people.”
| Date Taken: | 04.02.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 04.22.2018 04:15 |
| Story ID: | 274026 |
| Location: | KADENA AIR BASE, OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 5,206 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Handcuffs for Wrenches, 18 SFS and 18 AMXS Airmen switch jobs for a day, by TSgt Micaiah Anthony, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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