Maintainers ‘dance’ ensured NATO success for OUP

Published Jan. 3, 2012
By Maj. Andra Higgs
313th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

WESTERN EUROPE -- "In 1986, I was still a baby when President Reagan authorized military action against Libya," said 1st Lt. Cesar Hernandez, a former member of the 313th Air Expeditionary Wing, the European-based tanker unit formed in March 2011 to support the United Nation's no fly zone over Libya for Operation Unified Protector.

Hernandez, who led an 80-person maintenance team, vividly recalled his first commander's call with the unit, particularly discussion of the Qadhafi regime and its historical support of international terrorism.

"The briefing put everything into perspective and gave me a clear understanding of why we were there," said Hernandez. "After understanding what Qadhafi had done and what our work was doing to directly support the mission and save lives, we stopped asking 'why are we here' and just said 'let's get the job done.'"

For the hundreds of maintenance personnel assigned to the 313th AEW, the 99 percent mission capability rate for the wing's 19 refueling aircraft at the peak of March operations was a key reason the NATO-led Operation Unified Protector was able to reach a successful conclusion on Oct. 31.

"That's our job," said Col. Kenneth Bunting, the former maintenance group commander for the 313th AEW. Bunting currently serves as the 916th Maintenance Group commander at Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. "Things went really well. It was a total team effort between ops and maintenance. Communication was vital to success during the extremely high-tempo operation and we had excellent support from Air Mobility Command, 18th Air Force and our maintenance parts supplier."

In addition to communications role providing maintainers with a clear understanding of the mission, Bunting said the physical layout of the base also helped ensure a flightline full of mission-capable jets.

"Our success had a lot to do with the set up of the ramp," said Bunting, noting the impact of previous Air Force investments in the deployed installation's infrastructure. "We were able to fuel jets with pumps on the ramp which helped us minimize the use of fuel trucks. This saved a lot of time allowing us to concentrate on preparing jets."

The 313th AEW's success also hinged on keeping its aging fleet -- the majority of which were half-century old KC-135 Stratotankers -- running at peak performance. As a result of those efforts, the wing was able to provide approximately 265 million pounds of fuel to coalition and NATO aircraft during the eight-month mission.

"I looked them [the maintainers] in the eye every day and knew they were ready for anything," said Senior Master Sgt. Reginald Evans, the former 313th KC-10 maintenance superintendent from the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. "We knew that every mission we launched had a direct impact on what was going on. It was critical to get the mission done right the first time, with a sense of urgency and by the book."

Sharing the same challenges faced by other functional areas, the wing's maintainers were forced to make adjustments as personnel rotated in and out. Perhaps at no time was there greater potential for performance impacts than when experienced Guard and Reserve mechanics departed to make way for their active duty counterparts. However, Bunting -- a Reservist -- pointed out statistics that showed the hand-off was flawless.

"When the active duty rolled in here, they knew the job well. They had big shoes to fill and they filled them quite well," he said, noting 99 percent mission capability rates consistently posted during the final 60-day phase of the mission.

According to Bunting, the mission succeeded because line mechanics, technicians, supervisors and officers functioned as "a family that was mission-focused for leadership." He emphasized that "maintainers cut no corners and followed all technical data while accomplishing an extremely demanding mission.

"The pace was pretty intense," said 2nd Lt. Jeremy Baxter, the 313th AEW's former day shift KC-10 maintenance production officer in charge from the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis AFB, Calif. "There were only four KC-10 aircraft and we were turning them three times a day. It was a full flying schedule and it required all maintainers to pull together."

As quickly as the pace moved on the flightline, it also rapidly wound down as the 'mission-complete' flag was raised.

"We went from nothing to 100 percent operations in a few days, and went from 100 percent operations to nothing in a few days," said Hernandez. "It was like a beautifully choreographed dance. We were all in step and no one was out of time."