Aircrew Flight Equipment Airmen support 3rd Wing

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kyle J. Johnson
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  When you walk up to the double doors outside the Aircrew Flight Equipment building, you can just barely see rows of neatly arranged plastic boxes through the glass as you ring the doorbell to be let in.

A senior airman signs you in on the clipboard hanging on the inside of the doors as your eyes dart all around the large room, eager to see the wealth of tubes and masks lined with care along extensive work benches.

Throughout the workbenches, there are Airmen quietly examining each piece of equipment. A quick glance at a computer screen to check a manual or policy ensures each piece is operating at full capacity.

These Airmen are part of the 3rd Operations Support Squadron AFE flight and are responsible for the maintenance, packing, and repair of approximately 12,000 pieces of flight equipment with an estimated value of $3.5 million.

The number of people who are tasked with this multi-million dollar job: 10.

Personnel in AFE are responsible for keeping pilots alive when things happen unexpectedly. Their job requires constant attention to detail and a commitment to the safety of the aircrew they support.

With such a large volume of equipment to be inspected regularly, and such a small staff of inspectors, supervisors like Air Force Staff Sgt. William Becham, an AFE shift supervisor, pay strict attention to detail to make sure the shop is a well-oiled machine.

The equipment AFE technicians at the 3rd OSS inspect is used by various organizations on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson who use the parachutes and gear in their training and global operations.

Each airplane may need one or more specific types of equipment, and AFE technicians are expected to be knowledgeable on every piece of equipment needed for each specific model of aircraft.

Flight equipment is constantly coming in and out of the shop for maintenance and inspection. Airman 1st Class Kyle Hernandez, an AFE Journeyman for the AFE flight, explained they have 11 sets of flight masks for C-17 Globemaster IIIs, each made upof 15 masks. This means a total of 165 flight masks requiring inspection every 30 days and a full rebuild and cleaning every 120 days.

If the equipment is assigned to planes, it is cycled on and off the planes according to their inspection schedule. When the equipment is due for inspection, they take it off the planes and replace it with newly inspected gear, Hernandez said.

If a problem is found in a piece of equipment, they will repair it, return it, or condemn it, said Becham. It is their job to make sure that no faulty equipment makes it onto a plane. The 3rd OSS AFE flight has adopted the motto, "Your life is our business / Last to let you down."

It is vital AFE technicians display their integrity with each of their 1,000 weekly inspections. If personal breathing equipment has a small hole in it, it could mean death to a pilot and the entire crew.

AFE technicians practice service before self on a daily or - in some cases - nightly basis. They use shift management to make sure they have technicians working late into the night inspecting, repairing and packing flight equipment so they ensure operational readiness for assigned planes at all times.

Every flight mask, every tube and each helmet must be inspected with excellence every time; the Air Force aircrews place their lives in these Airmen's hands.

"If they had smoke in the cockpit and went to put a PBE on that had a hole in it, they could potentially die," Hernandez said.

Because aircrew flight equipment is an Air Force specialty code entirely focused on supporting other career fields, teamwork is strongly instilled.
Alaska Air National Guard Senior Airman Kenneth Mendenhall, an AFE journeyman from the 176th Operational Support Squadron, is currently assigned to the 3rd OSS AFE flight.

By coming to an active-duty squadron temporarily to assist in their mission, Mendenhall is able to receive hands-on experience with different equipment which allows him to integrate that knowledge and training into his home unit.

The joint-force mentality is prevalent throughout the AFE flight. Becham didn't claim that his job is any more important than other jobs in the military. He said his element is just another piece in the puzzle.

"We do our job," Mendenhall said, "And we do it right."

An aircrew steps onto their C-17 and prepares to be launched thousands of feet in the air. They step with confidence because they know somewhere, there are a few good Airmen who make aircrew lives their business.