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STRATTON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Schenectady, N.Y. — On the flight-line at Stratton Air National Guard Base, Airmen from the 109th Maintenance Group lean over open engine panels while flight engineers from the 139th Airlift Squadron take notes, ask questions, and trade their usual in-flight checklists for wrenches and technical orders.
It is the latest session of a new cross-training program that is quietly reshaping how two of the 109th Airlift Wing’s most technical career fields work together. Maintainers and flight engineers, who usually meet only during pre-flight walk-arounds or post-mission debriefs, are now stepping into each other’s worlds to better understand the LC-130’s every bolt, switch, and sensor.
The 109th Airlift Wing is the only unit in the world that flies ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules aircraft, delivering critical cargo and scientists to remote research sites in Greenland and Antarctica in support of the National Science Foundation. In such unforgiving environments, trust between the people who maintain the aircraft and those who fly them is not optional—it’s life-saving.
“When you’re landing on an ice runway 800 miles from the nearest hangar, there’s no room for doubt,” said Tech. Sgt. Stephen Cernak, a flight engineer who recently spent time shadowing the maintenance crew.
“Understanding what our maintainers do and what they’re paying attention to on the aircraft gives me confidence when I’m monitoring those systems in the air.”
Aircraft maintainers who are formally designated AFSC 2A5X1/2A5X2 are responsible for every major system on the LC-130. They inspect engines and propellers, repair hydraulics and electrical networks, and prepare the aircraft for the bitter cold and shifting weather of the polar regions.
Flight engineers (AFSC 1A1X1) are enlisted aircrew members who serve as technical experts during missions. From their seat between the pilots, they monitor fuel flow, engine performance, pressurization, and electrical output while advising on performance limits and emergency procedures.
“It’s easy to get tunnel vision in your own specialty,” said Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Bates, a crew chief who recently participated in the training. “ There’s a lot of stuff that happens behind the scenes that goes unnoticed when the plane is not flying, like inspections, basic servicing, and scheduled maintenance. Now, when I hand over an aircraft for a mission, I understand exactly what the engineer is looking for, and why.”
Leaders say the initiative is already paying dividends. Pre-flight inspections are smoother, communication is clearer, and Airmen on both sides report a greater sense of mutual respect.
“The better we understand each other’s jobs, the stronger our team becomes,” said Master Sgt. Christopher Dumond, one of the program’s coordinators. “That’s critical when you’re operating at the ends of the Earth. Due to the singular nature of our ski mission and the limited amount of maintenance personnel that travel with us, these new flight engineers with no prior maintenance experience must know these skills to keep the mission going.”
As the 109th gears up for another year of Arctic and Antarctic missions, the cross-training effort is expected to expand, with more Airmen rotating through each discipline. The goal is simple: an LC-130 team that can anticipate problems before they occur—whether on a frozen sea-ice runway or 30,000 feet above the Southern Ocean.
For the Airmen of the 109th, it’s one more way to ensure that when the mission calls, every wrench turn and every engine reading is backed by a shared understanding of the aircraft that makes pole-to-pole power projection possible.
| Date Taken: | 09.30.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2025 13:07 |
| Story ID: | 549686 |
| Location: | SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 15 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 109th Airlift Wing Fields New Flight-line Orientation Program, by MSgt Jamie Spaulding, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
