Airmen of Joint Base Lewis-McChord maintenance flight keep aircraft safe, prepared

Published Feb. 25, 2011
By Airman 1st Class Leah Young
62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- "When an aircraft breaks down, the obvious reaction is find the problem, fix it and get it back in the air," said Tech. Sgt. Adam Balmer, 62nd Maintenance Squadron crew chief. "Well, here in the maintenance flight, our job is to proactively do our best to prevent that break down from ever happening."

With more than 130 Airmen, the maintenance flight is the largest in the 62nd MXS. The flight conducts around-the-clock operations to support the flightline mission.

"There will always be a crew here, no matter what time of the day or night," said Sergeant Balmer. "We work 12-hour shifts to get the plane inspected, repaired and back to the flightline as fast as possible."

The 62nd Maintenance Squadron is compiled of seven flights: accessories, time measurement diagnostic equipment, fabrication, aerospace ground equipment, munitions, avionics and maintenance.

"This flight's product is the maintenance squadron's mission," said 1st Lt. Nathan Lucero, 62nd MXS maintenance flight commander. "Our responsibility is to get the aircraft inspected, repaired and back to the flightline in the best condition possible."

The maintenance flight is broken down into smaller sections, such as home station check and repair and reclamation. It operates in the "back shops," and is not to be confused with the aircraft maintenance flights, which operate on the flight line.

"On the flightline, aircraft are always coming and going," said Senior Master Sgt. Mike Gloss, 62nd MXS maintenance flight chief. "The aircraft maintenance squadron has a reactive mindset. Here, it's more of a controlled environment. It's more preventative. We conduct routine inspections to catch the discrepancies before they turn into problems."

According to Sergeant Gloss, every aircraft runs on a 180-day inspection cycle.

"We see the planes in here about every six months, and there are four phases of maintenance," said Sergeant Gloss. "In each of the phases, there are specific items that need to be inspected and cleared. So each time a specific plane comes in, it goes through the next phase of inspection. It usually takes just about two years to touch every part of each aircraft."

While the maintenance flight conducts thorough inspections, they also work with the other 62nd MXS flights to complete the mission.

"We work very closely with the other flights," said Tech. Sgt. Johnathan Shew, 62nd MXS dock coordinator. "Each shop contributes different things towards finishing the task and getting the plane back to the flightline. One flight cannot complete their mission without the help of the other flights."

The Airmen of the 62nd MXS maintenance flight are dedicated and committed to ensuring the aircraft is safe and ready to deliver global airlift for America.

"It's our personal responsibility to keep the planes always current, always ready, always available," said Sergeant Balmer. "You never know what's going to happen. And we need to make sure that we're prepared."