An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Grand Forks maintainer manages KC-135 maintenance ops in Kyrgyzstan

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Tech. Sgt. David Ames is a KC-135 Stratotanker guidance and control systems craftsman deployed with the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing at the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan.

Sergeant Ames is deployed from Air Mobility Command's 319th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 319th Air Refueling Wing, at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D. In his deployed job, he coordinates maintenance for the KC-135 in preparing the airframe for air refueling missions supporting Operation Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan.

Sergeant Ames is among a team of maintenance specialties that keep the decades-old KC-135 fulfilling combat air refueling missions from his deployed base. In addition to guidance and control, there are maintenance Airmen who work as crew chiefs, aerospace propulsion, structural and other areas.

AMC officials who oversee KC-135 maintenance statics across the command said for each hour of flight in a KC-135, it requires an average of seven to eight man-hours of maintenance. "KC-135 maintainers are the best in the world, but they can't stop the wear and tear of this nearly 50-year-old aircraft," states AMC's "Talking Points" for August 2010.

Additionally, according to 376th AEW Public Affairs, KC-135s deployed to the Transit Center at Manas maintain a busy schedule of air refueling. In 2009, KC-135s deployed there off-loaded more than 190 million pounds of fuel to more than 14,500 receivers during 3,400-plus missions. In all, the busy flight schedule in turn keeps the maintainers like Sergeant Ames on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Transit Center at Manas was activated in December 2001 when coalition forces deployed to Manas International Airport and began supporting Operation Enduring Freedom 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.