'Your life is our business'

  • Published
  • By Maj. Ann Peru Knabe
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  In the shadows behind every aircrew stands a life support team. These Airmen typically don’t seek the limelight. Instead, they want all “their” aircrews to come home safely.

The role of life support is significant for many reasons, said Staff Sgt. Jessica McCormick, a KC-135 Stratotanker life support journeyman with the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron.

“First and foremost, we provide equipment to keep the crewmembers alive in case of an emergency,” said the sergeant who has five years of experience in the field.

“Second, we ensure crewmembers are familiar and trained on the procedures and use of the equipment that could potentially save their lives.

"Finally, we’re the last office they visit prior to their flights," Sergeant McCormick said, "and that means we’re the last people to give them the signature saying ‘Have a good flight!’”

The aircrew survival gear and equipment maintained by the life support section varies from aircraft to aircraft.

“We’re responsible for maintaining parachutes, rafts, personal breathing devices, smoke masks, helmets, survival vests, body armor and nuclear flash blindness goggles,” said Airman 1st Class Latoya Anderson, a life support specialist, who, like Sergeant McCormick, is deployed from Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., and works with tanker aircrews. “We test the equipment for efficiency by putting it on or testing it out on special machines.”

Airman Anderson’s job also requires her to change outdated equipment and update it on the Air Force technical order on the aircraft.

Life support Airmen assigned to fighters, on the other hand, have additional responsibilities.

“We’re different because we also maintain each aircrew member’s flying gear with more routine inspections, and we deal with ejections,” said Staff Sgt. Kevin Getchell, a 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron life support specialist.

“Life support is important for fighter pilots during their flights, because (the life support section) works with their helmets, masks and g-suits,” said Sergeant Getchell, who is deployed from the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.

“And in the event of an ejection, our job is absolutely vital," he said. "From the opening of a parachute to the rescue of a downed aircrew, our survival equipment and aircrew training connect the two together.”

Sergeant Getchell’s main life support responsibilities are on the flightline.

“I inspect the parachute installation in the aircraft and take care of the survival kits,” he said. “Being in an (F-15E) Strike Eagle squadron, we normally have more equipment than other fighter squadrons because every aircraft has two seats.”

Some life support specialists work on multiple aircraft.

Assigned to the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, Airman 1st Class Aaron Chatmon works on C-17 Globemaster IIIs. Back at Dover AFB, Del., the life support journeyman works on C-5 Galaxies with the 436th Operations Support Squadron.

In the desert, Airman Chatmon tests oxygen masks and inspects night vision goggles. When an aircraft lands, he completes a mission-terminated inspection to ensure all of the life support equipment is serviceable and ready for the next flight.

Airman Chatmon said one thing that makes the C-17 life support mission different from the fighters is emergency survival equipment associated with the passengers. Like Airman Chatmon, Senior Airman Alicia McClelland, a 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron life support journeyman, considers the passengers when configuring life support on C-130 Hercules aircraft.

“We have passenger breathing equipment, adult and child life preservers and infant cots,” said Airman McClelland, a deployed Guard member assigned to the 135th Airlift Group. “But you won’t find this survival gear onboard fighters or bombers because they aren’t designed to carry extra people.”

Senior Airman Chelsea Raymond, a 914th Airlift Wing reservist assigned to the 379th EOSS, also works in C-130 life support. She believes the life support mission is intricately tied to the war on terrorism.

“I believe we play a key role in the mission. Without us, aircrews would not be able to focus on the job at hand, because they might worry they don’t have the means to protect themselves in case of an emergency,” she said. “We make sure equipment is in the best condition so they can fly safely with no worries.”

Sergeant McCormick said she didn’t realize how significant the life support role was until she met a veteran at a 4th of July parade five years ago, just after she joined the Air Force.

“While we were waiting for the parade to start, the veteran asked me what I did in the Air Force,” she said. “I told him 'life support' but added we weren’t really that important. The veteran looked at me and told me to never say that again, because if it wasn’t for life support, he wouldn’t be here today.”

From that moment on, Sergeant McCormick said, she never downplayed the importance of her career again.