Mobility Airman profile: Dover NCO, Montana native, manages aircraft maintenance efforts in Kyrgyzstan

Published Jan. 18, 2011
By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- In Montana in January, the weather can get pretty cold. The average low temperature for January in Libby, Mont. -- Staff Sgt. Chase Hosea's hometown -- is 18 degrees Fahrenheit. Naturally, the winter cold at his deployed location -- the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan -- isn't phasing him one bit.

Deployed from Air Mobility Command's 736th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 436th Airlift Wing, at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Sergeant Hosea works C-17 Globemaster III maintenance efforts at the Transit Center supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and other operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

An aerospace maintenance craftsman, Sergeant Hosea is deployed to the 376th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron of 376th Air Expeditionary Wing. In a Jan. 16 news story by the 376th AEW Public Affairs Office, he said he's proud to be serving on this deployment.

"Being a C-17 crew chief, I feel like as though I contribute every day," Sergeant Hosea said in the report. "Every time a plane goes to Afghanistan filled with Army, Marines, and anyone else who is fighting the war on terror, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I kept that mission alive with preventative maintenance."

Preventative maintenance is just the tip of the iceberg in what Sergeant Hosea is trained to do in aircraft maintenance. According to the official Air Force job description for an aerospace maintenance craftsman, Sergeant Hosea "advises on problems maintaining, servicing and inspecting" aircraft and aerospace support equipment. He also uses technical data to diagnose and solve maintenance problems on aircraft systems and interprets and advises on maintenance procedures and policies to repair aircraft and support equipment.

Sergeant Hosea is also trained to "coordinate maintenance plans to meet operational commitments, supervise and assist in launching and recovering aircraft, and to review maintenance data collection summaries to determine trends and production effectiveness," the job description states.

Through all of his training and ability, Sergeant Hosea said, for him, the best part about being deployed as an aircraft maintainer is "the ability to directly contribute to the mission." And he has also been doing it well because for the second week of January 2011, Sergeant Hosea was named the 376th AEW "Warrior of the Week." This is an honor bestowed on deployed Airmen going "above and beyond" their required deployed duties.

Whether it's about being deployed and by being in the Air Force, the 4 ½-year military veteran said he's fulfilling the reasons he joined the military. "I chose to serve in the military for a few reasons," Sergeant Hosea said in the report. "One reason is to know that I have done something for my country."

The Transit Center at Manas was activated in December 2001 when coalition forces deployed to Manas International Airport and began supporting OEF and the International Security Assistance Force after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the 376th AEW fact sheet states. The base continues to promote regional stability in Central Asia.

At his home station with the 436th AW, also called the "Eagle Wing," Sergeant Hosea is member of the active duty military host unit at Dover which provides command and staff supervision, along with support functions, for assigned airlift providing worldwide movement of outsized cargo and personnel on scheduled, special assignment, exercise and contingency airlift missions, the Dover AFB Web site shows. Additionally, as the home wing to the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, the "Eagle Wing flies hundreds of missions throughout the world and provides 25 percent of the nation's strategic airlift capability, projecting global reach to over 100 countries around the globe."

(376th AEW Public Affairs contributed to this report.)