SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Servicemembers go to technical school to learn the basic skills of their military job and they receive hands on experience when they go to their first duty assignment. However, with the high operational tempo and numerous tasks required of them day in and day out, the servicemembers of the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron aerospace ground equipment flight, here, have an opportunity to perfect and enhance their maturing skills.
"This is an awesome learning experience for me," said Airman 1st Class Terrell Chester, 379 EMXS AGE apprentice, deployed from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. "I have learned a great deal more than I ever could at my home station, because, there is a unique opportunity to learn about a lot of different equipment from a lot of different aircraft here. Plus, there are so many people here with years and years of experience that any time I have a question, I can find someone who can answer it for me."
"Although [service-members] learn a great deal about their jobs in [technical] school they can learn a great deal more here because we are responsible for so much equipment and because of the accelerated rate at which we work. [Servicemembers] can learn at the rate of months instead of years here," Senior Master Sgt. John Bush, 379 EMXS AGE flight chief, deployed from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., said.
The amount of experience that more than 100 servicemembers from more than 16 different bases bring to the 379 EMXS AGE flight is another great opportunity for newly trained AGE servicemembers. "It is a unique opportunity for them to learn from some very seasoned technicians," Bush said.
The flight must be staffed with a large group of skilled technicians because they maintain more than 500 pieces of support equipment such as generators, air conditioning carts, bomb lifts and hydraulic jacks, Bush said. "We also have to know about electronics, pneumatics, fuel and oil," Chester said, "as well as knowing how to take apart engines and rebuild them."
"This large array of equipment is used constantly here, so frequent maintenance must be performed," Bush said. All equipment must be inspected twice a year, although most electrical power equipment is also given a tune up every 180 days. In the month of September alone, AGE completed more than 96,000 service inspections.
"The air conditioners are one of the most important pieces of equipment on this flightline and keeping our air conditioners running is one of the most difficult tasks we do," Bush said. "The summer heat is especially tough on them because they are running non-stop."
"The cooling units are used to cool an aircraft's avionics or other electrical systems when Airmen are working on them," Bush said. Without the cold air cooling the components, they would generate too much heat and systems would be damaged.
Even with the stress from the extreme heat and constant use that is put on the AGE equipment here, they have been able to sustain an equipment in commission rate of more than 93 percent.
"It's difficult for an AGE flight to maintain an in commission rate that high," Bush said. "An average shop dreams of sustaining that rate; it is a testament to the extremely good job we are doing. The [servicemembers] work very hard and they take pride in their work."
"This pride is also evident in the quality of the equipment they send out to be used by maintenance workers and aircrew on the flightline, which had a 99.2 percent reliability rate in September," Bush said. To reach such numbers, the AGE flight must not only work at a fast pace but must also work as a team.
"The work here is too big for just one person, so we have to rely on each other to get all of the jobs completed," Chester said.
To the AGE flight, working as a team doesn't just mean working within their own flight; they also support aerospace ground equipment for their sister services and coalition forces. Recently, the Navy needed to change the landing gear tires on one of its aircraft and AGE was able to help them accomplish the job by providing them an aircraft jack. In September, they supported the Navy and coalition partners on more than 65 different occasions collectively with aerospace ground equipment needs.
With so many hands on opportunities working with numerous and diverse types of equipment, as well as with skilled craftsmen, new members of the AGE career field can learn and grow in Southwest Asia at an unparalleled rate.