KC-10 maintainers work 'around the clock' in Southwest Asia

Published Oct. 29, 2009
By Senior Airman Stephen Linch
380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- The scene -- a hot aircraft ramp located in a Southwest Asia desert on Oct. 29, 2009.

The people -- 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Airmen.

Their mission -- generate KC-10 Extenders to refuel aircraft providing combat support in Afghanistan.

To generate aircraft 86-0038, a KC-10 deployed from Air Mobility Command's Travis Air Force Base, Calif., the Airmen were tasked to perform a No. 2 engine change. It was discovered that this aircraft would need this 24-hour long operation after an inspection revealed some of the engines blades had been damaged in a previous mission.

When they finish the engine change, this KC-10 will join other KC-10s from the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, in providing air refueling in the skies over Afghanistan.

"Everything that we do on this ramp directly supports the troops in Afghanistan," said Staff Sgt. Charles Powers, a crew chief from the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. "These planes go up and refuel fighters providing combat support for the troops on the ground."

According to the Los Angeles native Sergeant Powers, being in a deployed environment presents difficulties not found at his home station.

The operations tempo is much higher here, requiring additional shifts that are longer. It is a lot hotter, he added.

Regardless of the temperature or how many hours have been worked, 380th EAMXS Airmen, such as Sergeant Powers, remain steadfast while servicing the aircraft.

"We are responsible for maintaining the aircraft -- from minor to major servicing," said Sergeant Powers, who is on his fifth deployment. "The most important thing we do is put fuel on the aircraft."

This aircraft will hold 350,000 pounds of fuel. That is important for all the fighters that need to put bombs on target, he added.

The KC-10 offers the flexibility to off-load fuel to both boom and drogue equipped aircraft and on-load fuel from other tankers to stay on station longer, said Lt. Col. Michael Rickard, 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron commander.

It carries about twice the fuel as a KC-135 so it can deliver much larger off-loads, he added.

"Maintenance works hard to keep these jets operating at a high operations pace, Colonel Rickard said. "Comparative to home station, they have very little time to catch the jets from a mission, fuel and repair them for the next mission, and launch them out. This cycle is never ending and they do a great job keeping the jets as healthy as possible."

The 380th AEW provides intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and aerial refueling in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Operations Iraqi Freedom, and Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.