Damage docs patch, repair battle aircraft

  • Published
  • By Lanorris Askew
  • Warner Robins Air Logistics Center Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) --  With aircraft battered and torn from the fight, aircrews depend on the "damage doctors" to get them and their aircraft back into the fray.

During the conflict in Iraq, members of the 653rd Combat Logistics Support Squadron here have been the "docs" carefully patching and repairing aircraft, making them airworthy to fly and fight again.

Several unit workers are deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom, doing their unique job, said Senior Master Sgt. Thomas Cain, training flight maintenance superintendent.

"The 653rd CLSS provides highly trained, worldwide-deployable teams to repair battle-damaged aircraft and help with supply and surface-freight management operations," he said.

Regular exercises in chemical warfare suits help prepare the unit for real-world wartime situations, said Cain.

"We train to do our job in a wartime environment," said Cain. "If you think about it, we have a gun in one hand and a wrench in the other. We train intensely for this job."

Teams of qualified people, including crew chiefs, structural technicians, fuel technicians, electrical and environmental technicians and hydraulics technicians, are steadily making sure aircraft are ready for the mission.

"While everybody can perform the others jobs somewhat, you still need that specialization for the different areas," he said. "In that aspect, the teams are pretty much all-encompassing."

Working in theater from what is called a "war wagon," Cain said 653rd CLSS workers show their skills, sometimes working without power.

"The 653rd must always be prepared," he said.

Cain said the unit's highly trained technicians are prepared for immediate worldwide deployment to support the F-15 Eagle, C-130 Hercules, C-141 Starlifter, C-17 Globemaster III, C-5 Galaxy, HH-53 Pave Low and HH-60 Pave Hawk. They perform aircraft battle damage repair and crash recovery operations.

Supply and transportation teams are equally prepared to assist with traffic management, rapid area distribution support and more. Supply teams from the 653rd CLSS deployed as part of a rapid distribution support team to issue new chemical warfare suits to troops already deployed to the area of operations.

All branches of the military now use these new suits, said Tech. Sgt. Michael Walker. He said the suits can be worn longer, which lets troops stay in the field longer.

"One of the taskings of the 653rd ... is to go in and assist with normal base supply during a bare-base buildup," said Walker. He said because of the influx of people in theater, the new suits had to get to the troops quickly.

Other improvements to the suits include a more customized fit, lighter-weight and coller material, and a longer life span, Walker said. He also said the suit can be washed and reused many times.

Besides battle-damage repair and supply issues, the unit also supports peacetime depot-level modifications, and repair and technical assistance to all major commands, other U.S. government agencies and allied nations.

"The level of capability that we have and the repairs we are authorized to make, normal field units are not authorized to do," said Tech Sgt. Dennis Perine, aircraft battle damage repair instructor. "We are able to get in and do the battle damage and complex repairs. Our training is above and beyond what you would normally have in a flying unit."

Although they make both structural and systems repairs, Perine said structural repairs usually dominate their time.

"The hardest repairs are the newer aircraft that have more of composite-type (construction) or more up-to-date technology," he said.

Though some fixes may be more time consuming than others, none ever defeat the unit members' capabilities, he said. (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)