Tigers give Falcons flight

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman James Croxon
  • 332d Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq --  Like an experienced pit crew, the 332d Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron aircraft maintenance unit -- the Tiger -- keeps the F-16 Fighting Falcons of the 332d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron in top form. 

The crew chiefs, back shops and support Airmen in the Tiger aircraft maintenance unit are primarily from Montgomery, Ala.; Madison, Wis.; and Springfield, Ill. 

"Springfield and Madison are our sister wings," said Senior Master Sgt. Michael Mullins, a crew chief deployed from the 187th Fighter Wing, Montgomery, Ala. "We are tied to (air expeditionary force) cycles, but the manning usually gets filled between the three wings.

"The amazing thing is we don't have shortfalls," he said. "Every Airman we needed to fill the rotation volunteered." 

More than half of the Airmen are full time guardsmen working solely as maintainence Airmen. For them, deployment is a chance to work with other units. 

"This is one of the few times we get to work with different folks and learn from each other," said Tech. Sgt. Tony Broome, of Prattville, Ala. "The technical orders tell us how to fix a problem, but we learn a lot of techniques from the other Guard units and the active-duty AMU." 

In addition to learning from other units, the increased operations tempo gives junior enlisted troops valuable experience they may not acquire back home. 

"This is more intense than technical school was," said Senior Airman Joshua Harrison, a jet engine mechanic from Monroeville, Ala.. "I'm a traditional Guardsman so I don't see the jets this much normally." 

During their rotation, the Tiger team fixed or inspected the jets twice as often as they would in the states. This is because the jets are flown more and on longer sorties. 

"At home, the sorties average about an hour and a half," said Tech. Sgt. Johnny Tucker, a jet engine mechanic from New Site, Ala. "Here at Balad, the sorties are almost five times longer on average. This increases the number of phase inspections we do and shortens the time between inspections." 

Most of these Airmen have worked together for a long time, more than 30 years for some. This camaraderie gives the back shops an almost a neighborhood garage feel. 

"We are so used to working together that we can do what needs to be done without even talking about it," said Staff Sgt. William Blackmon, a jet engine mechanic from Selma, Ala. "One Airman can be working on one part of an engine phase inspection and I'll move over to another piece." 

For most Airmen, the Tiger AMU gives them a chance to serve in the war and see their maintenance put to use by giving the pilots a well-maintained weapon system to drop munitions on the enemy. 

"This is a chance to see Tony's Pony in action," Sergeant Broome said -- referring to the moniker given to his  F-16.