Power pros 'wire' Wake Island

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Chris Vadnais
  • Air Force Print News
WAKE ISLAND (AFPN) --  The damage assessment crews that deployed here from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii eat a hot meal every night. They use laptop computers to compile data and generate reports, and sometimes, at the end of a particularly long day, they watch a DVD movie on a small television screen before going to bed.

Without electricity, none of this would be possible.

Super Typhoon Ioke pushed enough water over the atoll to flood most of its generators, leaving the island in the dark. Power production specialists from the 15th Civil Engineering Squadron went to work restoring power to the island almost as soon as the C-17 that brought them touched down the afternoon of Sept 13.

Within a few hours, just after night fell, an engine roared to life in the distance. With a snap of a few breakers, florescent lights flickered on, window-unit air conditioners began to breathe cool air, and electricity surged to wall outlets.

Thomas Hunter and Staff Sergeant Brian Kaufman helped Wake Island contractors bring that first generator to life, but that was only a temporary fix, and just the beginning of their work here.

Many of the airfield's most important systems employ generators. For example, the aircraft arresting system, which catches and stops aircraft in emergency landing situations, runs on two separate diesel-powered engines.

Hunter and Kaufman found one of those submerged in water and debris. After cleaning the area, they worked with the fire department to wash the 1200-foot long nylon straps in the brake systems.

"These were just installed last September, and if we let mildew get to them, they'll weaken," said Hunter after pulling the freshly cleaned straps out to dry in the sun.

"This is an important part of the airfield," said Sergeant Kaufman. "When it comes to the pilot's life, this is their last resort, really. This thing can save the pilot and save the aircraft," he said.

With the straps laid out in the sun, the team moved on to another project. They'd return later to wind the straps back up. Soon after that it would be time for dinner, their one hot meal per day. After that, they'd write a situation report on their laptop computer in the air-conditioning, and perhaps watch a movie before bed: all things they made possible.