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Joint Base MDL staff sergeant coordinates aircraft maintenance for Southwest Asia wing

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Four and a half years after leaving his hometown area of Waynesville, N.C., Staff Sgt. Justin Harris is doing what he planned to do - he's "protecting family and friends" as a member of the U.S. Air Force. He's doing it now too while deployed with the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing.

Sergeant Harris works as a maintenance operations controller in the "heart beat" of maintenance operations for the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing as a member of a team of eight Airmen in the 380th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron's maintenance operations center, or MOC. He is part of a team who, while working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, monitor and coordinate sortie production, maintenance production and execution of the flying and maintenance schedules while maintaining visibility of fleet health indicators for the 380th AEW.

According to Master Sgt. Terrance Johnson, MOC superintendent and Sergeant Pitarris' deployed supervisor, the MOC coordinates with maintenance units and communicates priorities for competing limited resources such as fuel or calibration docks, wash racks and dispatched specialists from the maintenance squadrons based on daily flying schedules and maintenance priorities. The exchange of information between squadrons, Sergeant Johnson said, and the MOC must be in sufficient detail to allow the MOC to comply with reporting requirements and to identify potential problems.

"We are a liaison between maintenance and other base agencies," said Sergeant Harris, who is deployed from the 305th Maintenance Operations Squadron, 305th Air Mobility Wing, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. "We help ensure aircraft get off the ground on time."

Sergeant Harris is also an aerospace maintenance journeyman - which aids him in completing his deployed duties in the MOC. He's trained to advise on problems maintaining, servicing and inspecting aircraft and aerospace support equipment and he can use technical data to diagnose and solve maintenance problems on aircraft systems, his official Air Force job description shows. He's also trained to interpret and advise on maintenance procedures and policies to repair aircraft and related support equipment.

Sergeant Harris also knows how to test repaired components using mock-ups and test equipment. He can adjust, align, rig and calibrate aircraft systems and performs engine run-up and accomplish weight and balance functions. He can supervise and perform aircraft and component inspections and interpret inspection findings and determine adequacy of corrective actions.

Furthermore, Airmen like Sergeant Harris are trained to inspect and check components for clearances, tolerances, proper installation and operation. They can inspect and operate powered and non-powered aerospace ground equipment and inspect and identify aircraft corrosion for prevention and correction. He reviews maintenance forms, aircraft records and reports to ensure complete documentation. Inventories and maintains alternate mission equipment.

In all that he's trained to do and what he supports are very important to him, Sergeant Harris said. It all goes back to why he serves in the military.

"I joined the military because our freedoms as Americans are not free," said Sergeant Harris. "I'm here to protect those freedoms and the way of life myself, my family and friends enjoy because that is what service is about."

The 380th EMXS is a unit of the 380th Expeditionary Maintenance Group of the 380th AEW. The wing is home to the KC-10 Extender, U-2 Dragonlady E-3 Sentry and RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft. The wing is comprised of five groups and 18 squadrons and the wing's deployed mission includes air refueling, air battle management, surveillance, and reconnaissance in support of overseas contingency operations in Southwest Asia. The 380th AEW supports operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.