Little Rock Airman repairs C-130 engines at Southwest Asia base

Published Sept. 2, 2010
By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Senior Airman Aaron Arnold is an aerospace propulsion journeyman deployed with the 379th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia.

Airman Arnold is deployed from the 19th Component Maintenance Squadron, 19th Airlift Wing, at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. 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, Airman Arnold is part of a team in the 379th AMXS that keeps the C-130 Hercules aircraft deployed there ready for combat airlift missions every day.

As an aerospace propulsion journeyman for the C-130, Airman Arnold plans, organizes and directs aerospace propulsion maintenance activities, his official Air Force job description shows. To do this he interprets and implements directives and publications pertaining to maintenance functions, including environmentally safe maintenance practices. He also determines resource requirements, including facilities, equipment and supplies, and he inspects and evaluates maintenance activities.

Aerospace propulsion Airmen like Airman Arnold also advise, perform troubleshooting and determines repair procedures on aircraft engines, the job description shows. He diagnoses and repairs malfunctions using technical publications and solves maintenance problems by studying drawings, wiring and schematic diagrams, technical instructions and analyzing operating characteristics of aircraft engines and propellers.

Airman Arnold is also trained to remove, install, inspect, repair and modify engines, engine modules and components and propellers and propeller components. He can disassemble and assemble engines and propellers adhering to prescribed procedures and prepare engines and propellers for installation, storage or transportation.

Furthermore, aerospace propulsion Airmen test components using bench mockups and test equipment, the job description states. They also install and remove engines on test stands and operate, evaluate and perform test stand functions on engines and they accomplish operator maintenance on test stands. Additionally, they inspect and maintain engine ground support equipment and operate and perform operator inspections on related support equipment. They also select, use and care for special tools, hand tools and test equipment.

To maintain their skill level and complete their job successfully, aerospace propulsion Airmen like Airman Arnold also has to maintain a large amount of mandatory job knowledge. Knowledge areas include mechanical, hydro-mechanical, electrical and pneudraulic principles applying to jet and turboprop engines and propellers, oil analysis principles, wear metal criteria and guidelines, concepts and application of maintenance directives and using and interpreting diagrams and technical publications.

According to its wing Web site, the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing is one of the "largest, most diverse expeditionary wings" in the Air Force, providing combat airpower and support for operations New Dawn and Enduring Freedom and the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. The wing and its associate units operate more than 100 aircraft, making the base a large hub for humanitarian airlift activity while providing mission-essential combat power, aeromedical evacuation and intelligence support for three theaters of operations.