Travis AFB's 'Dash 21' shops keeps watchful eye on aircraft's gear

Published Oct. 14, 2011
By Nick DeCicco
60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- When Airman 1st Class Garrett Garza goes home, he takes a little bit of his job with him.

Garza works in the 60th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron's "Dash 21" shop as a , which serves as a custodian for a host of C-5 Galaxy support equipment, including 25-man life rafts, emergency escape slides, crash axes, winches, kneeling collars, landing gear pins, first aid kits, emergency exit lights, portable oxygen bottles and rail mechanisms for palletized cargo.

If just one of those things isn't the way it's supposed to be for a flight crew when they need it, that can spell disaster.

"I do sometimes go home thinking, 'Are we up to date on all our emergency equipment?' or, 'Did I fix that pallet lock in a way that will stand up to the stresses of loading cargo?,' " Garza said. "Without taking care of the emergency equipment such as escape slides and life rafts, these planes cannot fly. Without taking care of all 36 pallet positions, the jet would only be half as good as it needs to be."

Much of the job is making sure all of the equipment is up to date and usable for those who will later fly the plane.

The planes don't get in the air without all the emergency equipment being ready to go, Garza said. It's a responsibility that can ground a plane and cancel flights, if need be.

"If there were issues with the winches or cargo rails system, the cargo upload would be delayed due to not having experienced personnel to fix the problems," said Staff Sgt. Kelly Sowder, also from the 60th AMXS. "My job ensures the cargo pallets are secure onboard the aircraft and that in the unfortunate event of an unscheduled landing, all passengers and crew can get off the aircraft safely."

Planes are kept up to standards stateside, meaning that all the "Dash 21" equipment for Travis aircraft are maintained at Travis rather than hauled to deployed locations throughout the globe.

When the shop's members have to deploy downrange, they do so as normal crew chiefs.

Both Sowder and Garza agree that the job is a relatively safe one, although both are aware of problems that can arise. Sowder said he worries about what happens once the plane departs.

"The slides and rafts on the aircraft can unintentionally inflate onboard the aircraft," Sowder said.

The bottles of air used to inflate the slides are what Garza considers the most dangerous part of the job.

"The slide bottles are pre-charged to 3,000 pounds per square inch," he said, meaning that the task of changing them out could be deadly.

Though his job may keep him up nights worrying the fate of others relies on him doing his job, Garza also said that knowing it is done is rewarding.

"Seeing these planes take off with a full load of cargo headed toward the (deployed) theater knowing that without us the C-5 would not be able to hold as much cargo as it can (is most rewarding)," he said.