Maintainers keep 'Thunder' rolling

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Ann Bennett
  • Cooperative Cope Thunder Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (AFPN) --  With more than 47 aircraft from the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom converging on the flightline here for Cooperative Cope Thunder, the "Thunder Dome" is serving as the nerve center of maintenance activities vital to deployed units.

The Thunder Dome is nothing like the gladiator-style arena seen in the movie, “Mad Max.” It is a 90,000-square-foot maintenance hangar used by 353rd Combat Training Squadron Airmen for this air combat training exercise taking place June 9 to 24 here and at nearby Elmendorf Air Force Base.

The exercise, the largest multilateral air combat exercise in the Pacific, also includes units from Germany, Singapore, Australia, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Thailand, Bangladesh and South Korea, officials said.

“Maintenance support is the backbone of this exercise,” said Capt. Terry Koester, 353rd CTS exercise support division director. “It is critical to sustaining the on-time takeoffs for the sorties.”

Aircrews are flying about 60 sorties a day to train on things such as interdiction, counter-air, and close air support missions in a simulated combat environment.

The amount of flying here is putting a heavy burden on the aircraft, and increases the possibility of maintenance problems, said Tech. Sgt. Karl Burgess from Kadena Air Base, Japan.

“Luckily, we’ve only had minor problems so far, and our guys are so on top of it. They’re fixing them as they come up,” he said.

The maintenance teams bring most of the supplies and parts with them, and depend on Eielson only for equipment that cannot be deployed.

Captain Koester and a staff of 11 maintainers and support Airmen ensure the deployed cargo is bedded down inside the Thunder Dome.

“We have the active-duty supply to tap into if we need to,” Sergeant Burgess said, “and the Alaska Air National Guard commander has also offered assistance if we need it.”

Another person complimenting the maintenance support is Japanese Master Sgt. Mototsugu Minoura, who is working as a maintenance coordinator in the maintenance operations center.

He said the greatest challenge for him, though, is the language barrier.

“Communicating in a different language is challenging for most of us here,” Sergeant Minoura said.

Another challenge he said they face is the equipment they borrow is not compatible with their items, and it takes them a while to become familiar with the equipment to make it work.

Senior Airman Adela Zertuche, an electro-environmental technician with the Texas Air National Guard's 149th Fighter Wing, said the biggest challenge for her is working out of a box.

“Back (in San Antonio) we have everything set out and organized for us, and we’re not digging through boxes,” she said. “It’s not really a problem, it just takes a little more time to get some things done here than back home.”

“But overall, we’re having a lot of fun here learning about new cultures and the way other nations do business," said Sergeant Minoura.