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Travis NCO, Fort Myers native, maintains deployed air refuelers as KC-10 crew chief

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Staff Sgt. Nicholas Shoenhair is a KC-10 Extender crew chief with the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Extender aircraft maintenance unit at a non-disclosed base here.

Sergeant Shoenhair is deployed from the 660th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., and his hometown is Fort Meyers, Fla.

Before every KC-10 Extender launch, 380th EAMXS Airmen like Sergeant Shoenhair make sure the more than 180-foor-long tanker and 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 "a little about every system on the jet."

The official Air Force job description for a crew chief states that maintainers like Sergeant Shoenhair 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 Shoenhair 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 Shoenhair's work is among several maintenance specialties who maintain the KC-10 for deployed operations. There are KC-10 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. Then who ensure the general operability of the aircraft.

Overall, Sergeant Shoenhair's support for the KC-10 mission with the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing leads to effective support in forward deployed areas such as Afghanistan. For example, in 2009, KC-10's from the 380th AEW and the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron flew 4,760 combat sorties off-loading more than 422 million pounds of fuel to more than 31,000 aircraft. In the same year, the KC-10s and their crews accumulated more than 40,000 hours of flight time.

The 380th EAMXS is a sub-unit of the 380th AEW. The wing is home to the KC-10 Extender, U-2 Dragon Lady, E-3 Sentry and RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft. The wing is comprised of four groups and 12 squadrons and the wing's deployed mission includes air refueling, 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.