Photo By Joseph Mather | ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. – Staff Sgt. Gilberto Saurez, left, 402nd Expeditionary...... read more read more
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Airmen from the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex 402nd Aircraft Maintenance Group’s Expeditionary Maintenance Flight, or EDMX, completed a wartime aircraft battle damage repair, or ABDR, exercise in April at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, demonstrating their ability to quickly return damaged aircraft to service in a contested environment.
The Aircraft Battle Damage Repair exercise simulated realistic combat scenarios, including active shooter situations, medical emergencies and incoming missile fire, to prepare Airmen for the challenges of maintaining aircraft under fire.
Having to maintain continual readiness, Tech. Sgt. Robert Ice, 402nd EDMX ABDR technician and instructor, emphasized EDMX’s specialized training in providing ABDR to F-15, C-130, C-17, C-5, and rotary wing platforms that have sustained combat damage around the globe.
“The 53-person unit comprises specialists in aircraft structural maintenance, crew chiefs, electricians, and fuel systems,” said Ice. “These Airmen undergo rigorous training every 15 months, including post attack reconnaissance, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense, and tactical combat casualty care.
"We want these technicians to be ready for getting jets back in the fight while a formidable adversary is actively engaging our team," he continued.
EDMX Airmen rise to the challenge in ways other units do not have to encounter.
"With the amount of training required to ensure ABDR teams can deploy rapidly, it is simply not feasible for other units to keep up with our training pace,” said Ice. “The EDMX Flight provides a crucial capability to ensure air superiority in a major conflict.”
Ice said the EDMX Flight continually adapts its training to address evolving world threats and consists of preparing for enemies that are far more capable, well equipped and technologically advanced.
"During the exercise we threw everything we could think of at our technicians and instituted as much chaos as possible,” he said. “Our technicians were prepared every step of the way.”
In a real-world scenario, an ABDR team deploys with a mobile maintenance unit and necessary equipment tailored to the specific aircraft and damage. The unit can operate indefinitely through resupply.
Ice expressed pride in training the next generation of ABDR Airmen and emphasized the EDMX Flight is committed to readiness.
"We, as one of three ABDR units (Air Force-wide), spend the duration of our lives preparing for the unknown and are postured to backfill as needed quickly and wherever the worst-case scenario happens,” he said. “We trace our expeditionary maintenance roots back to the Vietnam War with the formation of the 653rd Combat Logistics Support Squadron in 1967. Since then, EDMX ABDR units have supported every major military engagement. This exercise underscores 402nd AMXG’s commitment to ensuring rapid aircraft repair capabilities in any environment, contributing to the Air Force's overall mission readiness.”
| Date Taken: | 05.30.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.30.2025 14:12 |
| Story ID: | 499312 |
| Location: | ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 24 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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