Mobility Airman profile: Dyess lieutenant manages C-130 aircraft maintenance at Southwest Asia base

Published Jan. 11, 2011
By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- At a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia, 2nd Lt. Michael Chidester oversees the daily maintenance and availability of C-130 Hercules aircraft for combat airlift and airdrop missions in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

As an aircraft maintenance officer with the 386th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, that means real-time, on-the-spot maintenance has to be tracked and completed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The mission never stops in supporting operations New Dawn, Enduring Freedom and the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

But Lieutenant Chidester is trained to meet the challenge, according to his official Air Force job description for an aircraft maintenance officer. He leads, trains and equips personnel supporting aerospace equipment sustainment and operations and manages maintenance and modification of aircraft and associated equipment. He also administers aircraft maintenance programs and resources, directs aircraft maintenance production, staff activity and related materiel programs, assesses unit capability and advises senior leadership.

Lieutenant Chidester is deployed from the 317th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 317th Airlift Group at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. It's from his work at home station to his current deployed work where he meets his duties and responsibilities as an aircraft maintenance officer.

In directing aircraft maintenance operations activities in-garrison and at deployed locations, Lieutenant Chidester maintains workforce discipline and responds to personnel issues while balancing workforce availability and skill levels with operational requirements, the job description states. He works with functional managers to develop, formulate and manage fiscal resources and "instills maintenance discipline, security awareness and force protection concepts."

Officers like Lieutenant Chidester also ensure accuracy of documentation in aircraft forms and automated systems and to adherence to technical data, policy, procedures and safe maintenance practices.

He also "develops, coordinates, and executes flying and maintenance schedules, manages aircraft configuration, daily aircraft servicing, weapons loading, launch, recovery and repair, periodic aircraft maintenance inspections and flightline safety and foreign object damage prevention and dropped object programs," the job description states. He also "manages overall aircraft fleet health and ensures aircraft availability to execute mission requirements. Analyzes aircraft maintenance indicators to identify trends and initiates corrective actions."

Furthermore, in the long list of his responsibilities, Lieutenant Chidester directs maintenance activities that may include aircraft propulsion, pneudraulics, egress, fuel systems, electro-environmental and avionic systems. His direction may also include management of aerospace ground equipment, structural repair, corrosion control, survival equipment, machine, welding, inspection, aero-repair and non-destructive inspection.

Lieutenant Chidester is also likely to coordinate key core logistics requirements supporting aircraft maintenance operations, according to the job description. That incudes establishing support requirements for supply requisition, repair cycle, delivery, combat support, ground and aerial port transportation and base support plans. It might also include directing and managing depot maintenance activities to encompass wholesale logistics life cycle sustainment support.

The 386th Air Expeditionary Wing is the primary tactical airlift hub for re-supply missions supporting coalition operations in Iraq and provides combat service support to land component forces throughout the Persian Gulf Region and Iraq, the 386th AEW Web site shows. The wing is comprised of the 386th Expeditionary Operations Group, 386th Expeditionary Maintenance Group, 386th Expeditionary Mission Support Group, 386th Expeditionary Medical Group, and 387th Air Expeditionary Group and includes approximately 2,400 active duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Airmen.

At his home station with the 317th Airlift Group, Lieutenant Chidester is part of a group comprised of the 39th and 40th Airlift Squadrons, 317th AMXS, 317th Maintenance Squadron, 317th Operations Support Squadron and the 317th Maintenance Operations Squadron. The group comes under the operational control of 18th Air Force and Air Mobility Command at Scott AFB.