The 347th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron held a dedicated crew chief ceremony March 24 to officially resume the historic flightline program. The program has been in existence here since 1997, but had fallen by the wayside. Airmen pushed to re-energize and reactivate the program.

The ceremony formally recognized the best HC-130P/N and HH-60G Pave Hawk maintainers who manage the maintenance of assigned aircraft to improve their reliability, maintainability and readiness.

“The duty title of ‘dedicated crew chief’ is not an Air Force specialty, but a job description of a hard-working, knuckle-busting, proud technician assigned to his or her own aircraft,” said Maj. Don Russell, 347th AMXS commander. “They must not only be knowledgeable on their assigned aircraft, but a proficient technician and advocate of impeccable maintenance discipline.

“Dedicated crew chiefs are selected on the basis of initiative, leadership ability and technical skill,” he said.

The Airmen selected can have any maintenance Air Force Specialty Code as long as they meet job standards qualifications. If an Airman is chosen outside of the crew chief career field, he can become fully qualified by meeting certain training requirements, said Capt. Tony Rowland, 347th AMXS/41st HMU officer in charge.

“Their different backgrounds can give them insight to a different ‘piece of the pie’ that at the end of the day gets sorties in the air,” he said.

Because of the increased responsibility, a DCC must be staff sergeant or above and usually holds a seven-level in their job skill. They’re also given the honor of having their name stenciled on the aircraft.

“(The program) gives the DCC aircraft ownership,” said Tech Sgt. Patrick McMillian, 347th AMXS C-130 crew chief and DCC. “Since they have ownership, they can take pride in it.”

As an aircraft “owner,” the DCC is responsible for every aspect of the aircraft’s maintenance, from scheduled maintenance to phase inspections. They also coordinate with other shops to have work completed and make sure all maintenance documentation is accurate.

“Everybody wants to become a DCC because that’s when you know you’ve done your job right,” said Staff Sgt. Martin Sebok, 347th AMXS HH-60 crew chief and DCC. “A ceremony like this is important because other Airmen can see what they could aspire for and work a little harder for it.”

Another vital part of the DCC program is the several assistant DCCs assigned to each aircraft. The assistants are lower ranking Airmen working their way up the career ladder, Sergeant McMillian said.

“They move up as they become more experienced,” he said. “Eventually, the assistant will get a DCC certificate. It gives them a goal to make DCC.”

The assistant DCCs are apprentices and share the responsibility of maintaining their assigned aircraft while learning from the DCC. This teamwork ensures better training and around-the-clock management of each aircraft, Major Russell said.

“Together, this team will ensure their bird is serviced, inspected, cleaned, launched, recovered, repaired and correctly document all the maintenance actions,” he said. “A great deal of responsibility is bestowed upon them to carry out these tasks.

“They are the first level of flight line management and entrusted with all aspects of their aircraft,” he added.

To resume this historic program is a team effort, said Col. Joe Callahan, 347th Rescue Wing commander. The DCC is an Airman who people go to when there’s a problem.

“I no longer own the aircraft, now you do,” he said. “We will work with you to get any problems that arise fixed. We are the best because of the work you continue to do.”