Every long journey begins with a single step: 2nd MAW introduces inaugural crewmaster

Photo By Lance Cpl. Glen Santy | (Left to right) Lance Cpl. Martin J. Striefler Jr., the inaugural crew master to come to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252, talks to one of his instructors Sgt. Thomas Bahr, a loadmaster and a crewmaster instructor, with VMGR-252, after Striefler's "check flight," his final qualification, at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point flight line Oct. 4. Striefler's instructors said he did well for his first time, a couple of hiccups, but that he had the basics down.  

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NC, UNITED STATES

10.14.2011

Story by Lance Cpl. Glen Santy 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. - On Oct. 4, Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252 received a multifaceted Marine, titled a crewmaster, which is the first school-trained in the Marine Corps for operations on the KC-130J.
A crewmaster replaces the roles once designated as crew chiefs and loadmasters. Overall, the job consists of assisting the pilots of the Hercules with pre-flight, flight and post-flight operations, like inspections and refuels.

“This is the initial step,” said Lt. Col. Charles Moses, the commanding officer of VMGR-252. Lance Cpl. Striefler will be the first of a legacy of crewmasters.”

Lance Cpl. Martin J. Striefler Jr., a native of Middlesex, N.J., is the first crewmaster with VMGR-252, roughly one year after the Marine Corps’ decision to start training crewmasters.

“We took 10-month and 12-month courses and combined them into an eight-month course,” said Master Sgt. Thomas Tripp, the crewmaster staff non-commissioned officer in charge of VMGR-252.
A flight crew previously consisting of four with a pilot, co-pilot, loadmaster and crew chief is now regularly flown by a crew of three. Crew chiefs and loadmasters previously served two distinct and separate roles.

A crew chief conducted pre and post-flight inspections of the aircraft for each mission, Tripp explained. During the flight the chief monitored the aircraft equipment and operations like the fuel systems and aerial refuels. Lastly, the crew chief becomes the functional leader of the back of the aircraft in the case of an in-flight emergency.

A loadmaster was in charge of planning the mission, explained Tripp. Each aircraft has a certain window for each flight and loadmasters calculate the weight and balance of the aircraft for the missions. The loadmasters also configure airdrops and rapid ground refuels for each mission.

Striefler arrived to Cherry Point on his “check flight,” which is the final qualification of Marine Corps aviation schools. His flight started at Cherry Point and progressed to Canada, Italy and Afghanistan. On the return flight, they passed through Germany, Lajes Air Base, Portugal and finally back to Cherry Point.

“It was good,” said Striefler. “Challenging, but I enjoyed it.”
Both loadmaster and crew chief instructors with VMGR-252 watched Striefler while he completed his final test.

“Taking in both of these jobs is a challenging qualification,” said Sgt. Thomas Bahr, a loadmaster and a crewmaster student instructor, with VMGR-252. “His attitude has helped him a lot. There were a few hiccups on the flight but that happens. If we were looking for a Marine to qualify he’s exactly that.”

In the past, Marine Corps aviation has sent student Marines to either a 10-month crew chief course or a 12-month loadmaster course. The crewmaster goes to school for eight months and covers both jobs.

“It’s not a question of if we can train the Marines, it’s if they can still perform at the same level,” said Moses. “I can train a dog to sit but it doesn’t mean he will sit every time I say. What we want is to safely prepare these Marines while sustaining our current capabilities.”

Moses explained that the transition was not going to be easy and that this was just the beginning.

“We want these Marines trained to sustain the Marine Corps expeditionary ability without reducing capability or capacity,” said Tripp. “We’re combining operations and maintenance while maintaining skill level and quality on the aircraft. We want them to train fast but not have the courses watered down.”
Moses also explained the difficulty of creating a new military occupational specialty.

“There is a unique set of challenges in creating a new MOS,” explained Moses. “Then applying that to aviation makes it much more difficult.”

Striefler’s arrival is the first step of the new training transition.
Bahr described Striefler as someone who, during his down time, always had a book in his hands and was studying to make himself better at his job.

“You get out of this job what you put into it,” said Striefler. “To me, that means you have to put forth the effort to succeed. There’s a lot that goes into this job and it follows you home at the end of the day.”

The projected date for all crewmasters to be trained and prepared for duty across the board is September 2015.

• Date Taken: 10.14.2011
• Date Posted: 10.14.2011 09:06
• Story ID: 78474
• Location: MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NC, US