Photo By Staff Sgt. Colville McFee | U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Alvin Inthapatha, 9th Maintenance Squadron repair and...... read more read more
Subscribe
Keeping the mission going is part of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing’s (RW) goals, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U-2 Dragon lady is vital to the mission globally and in order to keep the mission going the plane needs to be maintained, to do that, Airmen from the 9th Maintenance Squadron (MXS) deconstruct the plane during phase maintenance.
“We know what it takes to get the mission done and we work hard to make sure we are detailed in our work,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jullana McCall, 9th MXS repair and reclamation craftsman. “In a time like this, where we have to work minimal manning it is tough, but we trust each other to perform our part.”
With the COVID-19, the 9th RW has taken protective measures to ensure Airmen are safe with protective equipment and minimal manning for physical distancing.
“Each part of the plane has different workers who specialize on specific parts and with our leadership taking care of us, we are able to split shifts and not over crowd the area.” said Tech. Sgt. Alvin Inthapatha, 9th MXS repair and reclamation craftsman.
Phase maintenance happens on the aircraft after 1,000 hours of flying. On a normal phase maintenance it takes roughly 12 days to complete, but with minimal manning and physical distancing, it has taken longer.
“It’s a good feeling knowing that our leadership trusts us to complete the mission and that they are looking out for us.” Inthapatha said, “They’ve been taking necessary precautions and being realistic about deadlines and mission requirements in such a hectic unknown time.
| Date Taken: | 04.20.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 05.04.2020 18:58 |
| Story ID: | 369194 |
| Location: | BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, U-2 Phase Maintenance, by SSgt Colville McFee, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
