Photo By Staff Sgt. Edward Hermsen | Senior Airman Connor Wagner, an aircraft technician assigned to the isochronal...... read more read more
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — (153rd Airlift Wing) Senior Airman Connor Wagner is a Crew Chief at the ISO Shop with the Wyoming Air National Guard. ISO is short for Isochronal Inspection. Which is a scheduled, in-depth inspection of an aircraft done after a set amount of time has passed. Instead of waiting for something to break, ISO teams routinely tear into the aircraft to find problems early, prevent failures, and return the jet to mission-ready condition. Think of ISO as the aircraft’s annual deep inspection, but for military aircraft it happens much more often and is broken into multiple inspection phases. He joined the Guard in 2019 and left for technical training just as the pandemic tightened restrictions across military installations. Even with COVID shaping his earliest experience in the Air Force, Wagner found a sense of belonging inside the maintenance group, where teamwork and practical problem-solving drive the mission every day. “My favorite part about this job is the people,” he said. “I love working with everybody and also having the flexibility of jumping from shop to shop to help out wherever it's needed.” Like many part-time guardsmen, Wagner began as a traditional drill-status Guardsman and worked in the R&R shop, learning how to remove and replace major components on the C-130. He later took a temporary technician position before eventually moving into a full-time technician role in isochronal inspection, commonly referred to as ISO. “I was basically just looking for a job,” he said. “When a technician position opened up in ISO, it was the first full-time opening, so I took it.” Today, Wagner works with an inspection team responsible for identifying corrosion, cracks, and other issues across the aircraft during routine inspection intervals. ISO maintainers check systems throughout the airframe and work closely with specialty shops whenever repairs require specific expertise. “We’re basically the inspection team,” Wagner said. “If we find something that needs attention, we work with the other shops to take care of it.” Before moving to Cheyenne, Wagner commuted daily from northern Colorado, a routine that many Airmen in the region are familiar with. Eventually, he relocated to Wyoming and enrolled at Laramie County Community College, where he is currently working on an engineering pathway with plans to transfer to the University of Wyoming.
| Date Taken: | 12.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.11.2025 12:47 |
| Story ID: | 553328 |
| Location: | CHEYENNE, WYOMING, US |
| Web Views: | 4 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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