AFGHANISTAN - Teamwork and coordination were the words for the day as members of the 451st Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron helped their Royal Air Force coalition partners move a damaged British Aerospace BAe 125, also known as the, “Queen’s airplane,” for transport back to England where it will be reconstructed or used for parts.
Originally designed for passenger transport, the Queen’s airplane was damaged during a hail storm in previous months and deemed not airworthy. Since then, the Royal Air Force has been working to determine the fate of the airplane.
“The aircraft encountered some pretty rough weather," said Tech. Sgt. Larry Hamlin, 451st Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron assistant section chief. “It’s not able to fly in any condition what so ever. They have a need to get that aircraft out of here, and we’re happy to help them in any way we can.”
The 451st EMXS has a strong working relationship with their coalition partners and are willing to do whatever they can to provide assistance.
“Any time we can help them out we’ll do so,” Hamlin said. “They’ve always been really helpful, and they’ve been operating this aircraft in the area of responsibility longer than we have.”
Because the RAF has been at KAF longer they have encountered problems 451st EMXS may have not. Teaming with the RAF allows the 451st EMXS to utilize their combined experiences to solve problems, save time, and get their missions done quickly and safely.
“This time we have a way to help them because they don’t have anyone who’s certified to operate cranes they need for this project,” Hamlin said. “They’re utilizing our crane and our people to do any kind of lifting that they need.”
Hamlin said he sees the partnership between the two units growing stronger while they’re here.
“The relationship we have with them is going so well that we can do things like this for each other,” he said. “We can always help each other out whether it’s an issue like this or it’s a maintenance issue.”
Partnerships and utilizing the expertise available to them allows the 451st EMXS to ensure the missions they perform are done to the best of their abilities.