Mobility Airman profile: Little Rock Airman supports C-130 maintenance operations at Iraq base

Published April 8, 2011
By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The C-130 Hercules, since it first came into the Air Force inventory in the 1950s, has long been the bedrock airlifter performing the tactical airlift mission in deployed locations. But to keep those planes flying, it takes deployed aircraft maintenance Airmen like Airman 1st Class Nicholas Spase -- a C-130 crew chief.

Airman Spase is deployed with the 777th Expeditionary (C-130) Aircraft Maintenance Unit at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. He is deployed from the 19th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 19th Airlift Wing, at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., and his hometown is Shertz, Texas.

According to the Little Rock AFB Web site, the 19th Airlift Wing is part of Air Mobility Command and provides the Department of Defense the "largest C-130 fleet in the world." As part of AMC's Global Reach capability, the wing's tasking requirements range from supplying humanitarian airlift relief to victims of disasters, to airdropping supplies and troops into the heart of contingency operations in hostile areas.

Before every C-130 launch, maintenance Airmen like Airman Spase make sure the airlifter is ready to go. As a crew chief, he makes sure the whole aircraft he's assigned to is cared for every day. He's required to know, as many crew chiefs have said, "everything there is to know about the jet."

The official Air Force job description for a crew chief states that maintainers like Airman Spase advise on problems maintaining, servicing and inspecting aircraft and they use technical data to diagnose and solve maintenance problems on aircraft systems. Crew chiefs also troubleshoot and maintain aircraft structures, systems, components and support equipment. They also supervise and perform aircraft and component inspections and interpret inspection findings and determine adequacy of corrective actions.

Furthermore, in his job, Airman Spase inspects and checks components for clearances, tolerances, proper installation and operation and inspects and operates powered and non-powered aerospace ground equipment, identifies aircraft corrosion for prevention and correction, and reviews maintenance forms, aircraft records and reports to ensure complete documentation.

Airman Spase's work is among several maintenance specialties who maintain the C-130 for deployed operations. There are C-130 crew chiefs and Airmen specializing in instrument and flight control maintenance, communications and navigation, hydraulics, aerospace propulsion, fuels, electrical and environmental systems and aero repair.

According to its base Web site, Joint Base Balad is home to the headquarters of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing. JB Balad is located approximately 42 miles north of Baghdad in the Sunni Triangle region, which was considered the power base of Saddam Hussein.

The 332nd AEW is composed of nine groups including the 407th, 438th, 447th and 506th Air Expeditionary Groups, located respectively at Ali Base, Al-Asad Air Base, Sather Air Base and Kirkuk Regional Air Base. Of note, the 332nd AEW has been designated by U.S. Central Command as the senior airfield authority at all four of these air bases in addition to Balad.