AGE Airman, deployed from Little Rock, keeps maintenance mission moving at Iraq base

Published Sept. 7, 2010
By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Airman 1st Class Jerry Saunders is an aerospace ground equipment apprentice deployed to the 332nd Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.

Airman Saunders is deployed from the 19th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, 19th Airlift Wing, at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., and his hometown is Asheboro, N.C. The 19th Airlift Wing is part of Air Mobility Command and provides the Department of Defense "the largest C-130 fleet in the world," according to the Little Rock AFB Web site. 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.

At his deployed location supporting Operation New Dawn, Airman Saunders maintains aerospace ground equipment, or AGE, to support aircraft systems or subsystems. According to his official Air Force job description for the AGE career field, that effort includes performing scheduled and unscheduled maintenance on AGE and inspecting, testing and operating AGE to determine equipment serviceability and proper operation.

The job description states that AGE Airmen like Airman Saunders are trained to diagnose mechanical and electronic circuitry malfunctions using visual and auditory senses, test equipment and technical publications. They also remove, disassemble, repair, clean and treat for corrosion, assemble and re-install AGE accessories and components.

AGE Airmen are also trained to stencil and mark AGE, service the equipment with fuel, oil, coolant, water, hydraulic fluid and air. They also operate, clean, inspect and service AGE towing vehicles, maintain vehicle forms and provide dispatch service for AGE, including positioning equipment to support aircraft maintenance and flying operations.

In diagnosing malfunctions and repairs for AGE, Airmen like Airman Saunders are trained to advise and perform troubleshooting on AGE before assigning repair action. They also inspect and approve completed maintenance actions, prepare AGE for storage and mobility deployment, and solve repair problems by studying drawings, wiring diagrams and schematics and technical publications, the job description states.

AGE Airmen like Airman Saunders also use an automated maintenance system to monitor maintenance trends, analyze equipment requirements, maintain equipment records and document maintenance actions. They analyze and repair ground support equipment using conventional and digital multimeters, voltmeters, ohmmeters, frequency counters, oscilloscopes, circuit card testers, transistor testers and hand tools. Additionally, they maintain external fuel and grounding systems.

In planning and organizing AGE maintenance activities, Airman Saunders helps establish production controls and standards, interprets and implements policy directives and instructions pertaining to maintenance to include environmentally-safe maintenance practices, and he determines resource requirements, including facilities, training, equipment and supplies.

To do their job at either home station or while deployed, AGE Airmen have to maintain mandatory job knowledge in numerous areas. They include knowing principles of electricity, electronics, general mechanics, heating, refrigeration, pneumatics, hydraulics and reciprocating and turbine engines. It also includes knowing troubleshooting, inspecting, repairing and modifying equipment as well as use of automated maintenance systems and application of maintenance management techniques, interpretation of maintenance directives, technical publications, drawings, wiring diagrams and schematics.

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.

Joint Base Balad also includes what was formerly Logistics Support Area Anaconda, the largest Army supply center in Iraq. The U.S. Army's 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command is responsible for operating the supply center.