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McConnell Maintainers muscle through the madness

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christopher Thornbury
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  The 22nd Maintenance Group successfully prepared the departure of 19 KC-135 Stratotankers with six hours' notice, April 26, 2016, at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas.

The base aircraft were evacuated to protect Air Force assets by avoiding threatening inclement weather which occurred exactly 25 years after a tornado that caused tremendous damages to the Southeast Kansas region.

"I am incredibly proud of the men and women of the 22nd MXG, and their ability to come together on a moment's notice to plan and generate the fleet," Maj. Charles Schulz, 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron officer.  "It was definitely a team effort among all the squadrons in the MXG and with our 22nd Operation Support Squadron, both active-duty and reservists allowed this movement to be the success that it was."

The 22nd MXG Airmen displayed Air Mobility Command's motto of, "rapid global mobility" by getting all the aircraft airborne in such a timely manner.

"It is a great feeling to be able to put a large scale plan together with a short timeline," said Master Sgt. Matthew McCord, 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron line chief. "Everyone jumped in to help where they could."

The combined efforts and experience of the maintenance squadrons provided the ability for the KC-135s to leave and avoid high-winds, hail and the possibility of tornados.

"We do this every day on a smaller scale," said Schulz. "So I knew going into this, that my maintainers had the ability to accomplish this. They didn't let me down and performed flawlessly."

Even with the talented and skilled Airmen of the 22nd MXG, getting 19 aging aircraft flying to safety at once brings its own challenges.

"Some of the issues they faced were ensuring safe launches for 19 aircraft that are all over 50 years old in a much shorter time frame than usual," said Schulz. "Old jets have maintenance issues, and Tuesday was no exception; but my maintainers performed flawlessly and were able to fix several minor issues that arose in multiple aircraft. They did this all while knowing there were storms coming that were of big enough concern to evacuate the aircraft."

Although a tornado did not touch down like in years past, the hail could have inflicted serious damage to the aircraft. Without the hard work of maintenance Airmen, the aerial refueling mission could have been compromised, which in turn could have hindered missions worldwide.

"This was truly accomplished on the backs of the 22nd MXG Airmen," said Schulz. "Every day, they demonstrate professionalism, dedication and flexibility; they just showcased it in spades this week."