Moody consolidated maintenance squadron aims to raise the bar

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Daniel Snider
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
The 23rd Component Maintenance Squadron, here, utilized the week of Jan. 23-27 to begin assessing ways to better support the A-10C Thunderbolt II’s increased flying mission.

The goal was to decrease the scheduled 28 days it currently takes to disassemble, repair and reassemble the TF-34 engine used in A-10s by at least two days.

“Being able to make improvements and capture these efficiencies will have a huge impact on the Air Force,” said Master Sgt. Matthew Price, the 23rd CMS aerospace propulsion craftsman and team leader of the overhaul event. “Currently Moody does it best, that’s already known, but what we’re doing is taking the opportunity to reassess what we’re doing and see if we can do it (even) better.”

Maj. Michael Irwin, the 23rd CMS commander, said he tasked Price with gathering the best and brightest Airmen he had accessible. About 20 civilians and Airmen from almost every enlisted rank gathered in a conference room to brainstorm new ideas.

“The younger minds in this room have a different way of looking at things and like my dad used to always say, ‘there’s more than one way to skin a cat,’” Irwin said. “So we’re looking for that (new) way.”

Newer processes to maintain the A-10s have continuously been implemented over the years from past continuous process improvements.

“This is a follow-up to a (CPI) event we did in early 2013,” Irwin said. “To this day, I think we’re still seeing some of the benefit(s) from that event on our line.”

A-10 pilots are aware and grateful for having one of the “best” maintenance teams in the A-10 community.

“Minimizing the time aircraft are down, maximizes the time we can utilize it for training (in preparation) for combat operations. Our maintenance folks do a fantastic job at getting aircraft ready for us, and then keeping them ready at all times,” said Lt. Col. Nicholas Dicapua, the 75th Fighter Squadron director of operations. “The work they have done since I’ve been the director of operations has been unparalleled.”

While Price said Moody’s maintenance team is already top tier, that doesn’t deter him from believing his Airmen can make the process better by finding quicker and more efficient methods of conducting business.

“We want to seize the opportunity to reduce the overall flow time, and I think we’re going to be able to do that easily so this could have a significant impact,” Price said.

Representatives from Air Combat Command at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, traveled to Moody AFB to participate in the continuous process improvement event.