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McGuire maintainers prepare for base's first C-17

  • Published
MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. --   McGuire's first C-17 is scheduled to arrive Sept. 24.

With almost 50 percent of the active duty maintenance personnel, 49 percent of the active Reserve technicians and 17 percent of traditional Reservists trained on the C-17, McGuire is busy getting everyone prepared for the new aircraft.

Maintenance personnel here began training for the C-17 in March 2003. They accomplished transition training at McChord Air Force Base, Wash., and Charleston AFB, S.C.

Transition training courses are designed to provide an effective and efficient means to convert qualified mechanics from one airframe to another, said Jeanette Hargrove, 305th Maintenance Operations Squadron maintenance training flight chief. In McGuires case, [mechanics converted] from the C-141 to the C-17.

The length of training depends on the specialty. Eight maintenance specialties are receiving transition training, including: aerospace propulsion jet engine; aircraft electrical and environmental systems, aircraft structural maintenance aircraft hydraulic systems, aerospace maintenance specialty, aircraft fuel systems, instrument and flight control systems, and communication/navigation/mission systems.

Training methods are a combination of formal classroom and over-the-shoulder, hands-on training with both C-17 training mock-up devices and aircraft on the flight line. Transition training teaches maintainers the basics of C-17 maintenance, but does not qualify them on the aircraft.

To become qualified on the aircraft, the maintainers must work one year with the aircraft and have all the proper tasks signed off on their training record, said Master Sgt. Al Jackson, C-17 education and training superintendent.

Ninety-four of 201 active-duty maintenance personnel have received their transition training. Thirty-one of 61 reserve technicians have also received transition training, and 36 of 206 traditional Reservists were trained. Through September, an estimated 71 percent of active-duty personnel, 67 percent of ART and 31 percent of TR will have completed transition training.

Almost daily we are sending people to get transitioning training, said Sergeant Jackson. All the C-141 people will either be leaving or getting trained on the C-17.

While a number of McGuires maintenance personnel are yet to be qualified on the C-17, there is an initial cadre of 61 C-17 qualified maintainers here. These qualified maintainers PCSed from bases already operating with the C-17.

[The qualified maintainers] are here to provide on the job training to the transition trainees, said Sergeant Jackson. Once we get our aircraft, we are considered organically capable of providing our own training. The initial cadre will be responsible for that.

A new training facility will aid the cadre in their job. Once the facility is operational in early 2006, the maintenance qualification training program and field training detachment will be able to do what it has been doing at McChord and Charleston -- provide transition training and initial training for three-level maintainers coming from technical school.

We are in the process of getting three mock-up trainers, added Sergeant Jackson. We will have an engine trainer, flight deck trainer and avionics trainer. These devices are enough to teach certain types of training without needing an actual aircraft.

With constant training and construction of a new training facility, McGuire officials are confident the maintainers here will be prepared for the C-17.