Soldiers from the 128th Aviation Brigade, Aviation Center of Excellence, out of Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. took home first place in the military category and second overall at the annual Aerospace Maintenance Counsel (AMC) Verticon Maintenance Competition held in Atlanta, Ga. March 9 to 11.
Verticon is a convention focusing on helicopters and other aircraft engineering and systems sponsored by both private companies and federal organizations with aviation assents. The convention events include a maintenance competition, tasking maintenance crews from the military, government, commercial companies, universities, and high schools to execute a series of timed maintenance tasks. The 5-person teams are split down in to groups of two and three and then given 15 minutes to complete a maintenance assignment, like working on aircraft electrical systems, inspecting aircraft wheels and tires, using a borescope to inspect small items in difficult to reach parts of an aircraft, and even working on a thrust reverser like those found on commercial airliners.
The Army’s team, “Team Blackhawk,” is composed of Apache Attack Helicopter Repairer Staff Sgt Ty Christensen, Aircraft Powerplant Repairer Staff Sgt. Hayden Libhart, Aircraft Electrician Staff Sgt. Corey Lanclos, and Aircraft Components Repair Supervisor and Team Blackhawk Coach Sgt. 1st Class Curtis Parker.
Preparing for these events required the Soldiers to research systems, learn new skills, and even build some of their own training aids.
“A lot of these tasks are outside of our wheelhouse,” said Christensen. “I normally just work on the AH-64 (Apache helicopter), but we were working on a thrust reverser, or the landing gear on a Boeing (airliner.)”
While all experienced in aviation systems, the Soldiers still had only 6 weeks to learn how to work on these systems that aren’t typically included in Army training requirements. “We were training every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. before work,” said Parker.
The Soldiers’ practice sessions weren’t just turning wrenches, since many of the competition’s systems were not part of the regular Army inventory. To prepare, they had to research the proper methods for competition tasks by reading books, reviewing manuals, and watching videos by other maintainers and manufacturers. “When AMC dropped the event, we had to go out and do research on our own and learn how to perform those tasks,” Christensen said.
Since the competition also required they work in teams, the Soldiers also had to train each other, making sure they all had the right skills and procedures down even if those weren’t part of the skills required by their individual specialties. “We crossed trained among the team… so when I had to compete in a task that was avionics heavy, I could compete and complete it, said Christensen.
In the end, the team took first place in the military division, and second place overall, out of 26 competing teams.
The team isn’t resting on its laurels however and is preparing for their next challenge. The Aviation Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) Americas Conference will see Team Blackhawk return to the field in a similar, but much larger competition. The team expects to see around 90 other teams at the conference, and the Army has a title to defend. “We’ve sent two teams and have always taken 1st or 2nd place, so we need to defend our standing,” Parker said.
The MRO Americas Convention is scheduled to take place April 20th in Orlando, Fl.
| Date Taken: |
04.08.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
04.08.2026 09:52 |
| Story ID: |
562224 |
| Location: |
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, US |
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