Photo By Master Sgt. Jenifer Calhoun | Staff Sgt. Luen Compton III is a maintenance data analyst with the 380th Expeditionary...... read more read more
Subscribe
SOUTHWEST ASIA - In the first three months of 2010 alone, the U-2 Dragon Lady aircraft assigned to the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron and the 380th Air Force Expeditionary Wing flew nearly 200 combat missions. After every one of those missions, maintenance Airmen gather information on how the plane's operating then have it centralized. This is where Staff Sgt. Luen Compton III steps in.
Compton is a maintenance data systems analyst assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron at a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia. He is deployed from the 9th Maintenance Operations Squadron at Beale Air Force Base, Calif.
Compton explained how his job affects the success of U-2 operations at his deployed location.
"I provide critical statistical information through reports and slideshows to commanders so that leadership can make sound decisions regarding aircraft based on facts and numbers," Compton said. "My job is important to have in a deployed environment so that maintenance leadership has an office that can immediately tell them how their fleet of aircraft is doing, and serve as a single point of contact for all maintenance information.
"My office also manages multiple information systems that track maintenance," the staff sergeant said. "It is much more convenient for users to have someone who can help them solve their problems, rather than contacting home station and waiting for a response a day later."
According to its Air Force fact sheet, the U-2 is a single-seat, single-engine, high-altitude-near space reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft providing signals, imagery and electronic measurements and signature intelligence. Long and narrow wings give the U-2 glider-like characteristics and allow it to quickly lift heavy sensor payloads to unmatched altitudes, keeping them there for extended periods of time.
Additionally, the fact sheet states the U-2 is powered by a lightweight, fuel efficient General Electric F118-101 engine, which negates the need for air refueling on long duration missions. The aircraft also has the following sensor packages: electro-optical infrared camera, optical bar camera, advanced synthetic aperture radar, signals intelligence and network-centric communication.
With all of the specialized equipment on the U-2, Compton said he stays busy. However, he said it's what he's doing now in the deployed environment in making a difference for his country.
"I'm very proud to serve in my nation's Air Force and military on deployment," said Compton, whose hometown is Crisfield, Md. "The military has done so much for me -- from getting me into shape physically and providing me a college education to allowing me to collect a steady paycheck in these hard economic times. By being in the deployed environment, I feel like I can give back to the Air Force and finally do what I been trained to do to my full potential, making it a difference where it matters most, at the frontlines of the fight."
Compton compared being deployed to "living on an island."
"It takes about four days extra to get things, you have limited items, and shipping mail is sometimes more expensive than buying gas for a gas guzzler back home," Compton said. "On the flip side of the island mentality though, everybody knows everybody else and the small, tight-knit community is more like a family here than a group of strangers. Life isn't terrible here, but looking forward to going home and to my family."
| Date Taken: | 05.09.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 05.09.2010 08:48 |
| Story ID: | 49354 |
| Location: | (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION) |
| Web Views: | 376 |
| Downloads: | 320 |
This work, Beale NCO, Crisfield native, tracks maintenance data for deployed U-2 aircraft, by MSgt Jenifer Calhoun, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
