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NCO, deployed from Little Rock, serves as 'flying crew chief' in Southwest Asia

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Staff Sgt. William Aker is a "flying" crew chief for the C-130E Hercules deployed with the 386th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, at a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia.

Sergeant Aker is deployed from the 19th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 19th Airlift Wing, at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. 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, 386th EAMXS Airmen like Sergeant Aker 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 Sergeant Aker 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, Sergeant Aker 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.

Sergeant Aker'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.

The 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, located at an air base in Southwest Asia, 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.