Vital ‘phase’ of maintenance

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Jeff Szczechowski
  • 455th Expeditionary Operations Group Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  “Phase maintenance” are two words that may not mean a lot to someone who does not work on the aircraft maintenance or operations side of the Air Force.

But spend a few minutes talking with the supervisor of the A-10 Thunderbolt II phase maintenance team that is deployed here from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., and the words are sure to become more meaningful.

Then, watch equipment maintainers crawl all over an A-10 like a NASCAR pit crew going after a stock car, and a real appreciation for this critical process in the overall flying mission here is bound to hit home.

Phase maintenance boils down to this: When an A-10 accumulates 400 hours of flying time, it requires the automobile equivalent of a complete overhaul. The aircraft is not permitted to resume flying again until it has been “phased.” This includes extensive scheduled maintenance, everything from cockpit checks to wing inspections, engine work to electro-environmental troubleshooting, and egress assessments to fuel-systems evaluations. In all, Airmen from 12 different aircraft maintenance shops do a thorough examination of 12 different components of the A-10.

Since an airplane is grounded until the scheduled maintenance is performed, the mission here, in a sense, revolves around the Airmen who roll up their sleeves to carry out this critical work.

Before the current maintainers arrived from Davis-Monthan, there was no such thing as phase maintenance here. This unit brought the capability to Afghanistan. Previously, when an A-10 reached 400 flying hours, it had to be sent home and swapped out for another one.

“No doubt, having a phase crew on location gives the flying mission a much broader leeway. It eliminates limits on flying hours,” said Master Sgt. Valentino Colasito, 455th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron’s equipment maintenance and component maintenance flight chief.

Sergeant Colasito said that, from an operations standpoint, the introduction of phase maintenance here has been “the real success story” of his five months here. He said that 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron pilots, who fly the jets that his Airmen maintain, have commented that these are the best post-phase aircraft they have ever flown.

He said his crew completed 16 aircraft since November, providing the squadron with an additional 6,400 flying hours. In addition, each aircraft was finished in just four to five days, whereas the process normally takes 10 to 12 days for each one at home.

“They know they have a job to do; they know why they put on the uniform day in and day out. They know what needs to be done, and it gets done,” Sergeant Colasito said. “We’ve set the bar high for the next group.”

Staff Sgt. David Kastning, an A-10 phase inspection team member, said that he is proud to put on his desert uniform every day to go to work and support Operation Enduring Freedom.

“I’m glad to be here,” he said. “I think everybody is. We’ve got a very important job to do, keeping our aircraft maintained and available to fly to meet the mission. We all play a part in making the whole machine here run smoothly.”

These Airmen worked for two fronts in the war on terrorism.

“These dedicated maintainers have been the lifeblood for A-10 operations in both OIF and OEF,” said Lt. Col. Kelly Larson, 455th EAMXS commander. “Not too many Airmen can say that. I’m extremely proud of what this group has accomplished.”

Along with the aircraft maintained for OEF, the team worked on five A-10’s for operations in Iraq, where phase maintenance is not available.