Robins lends hand in recovery Published June 5, 2013 By Jenny Gordon Robins Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Team Robins personnel played a vital role in taking care of hail damage recently suffered by C-130Js and Air Force Special Operations Command aircraft downrange. A highly-specialized Expeditionary Depot Maintenance team from here - which included aircraft battle damage engineers from the Tactical Airlift Division - worked to repair a total of 11 aircraft in less than four days. The Team Robins effort, in addition to the EDMX team, included the 409th and 411th Supply Chain Management squadrons, the Defense Logistics Agency, and the 402nd Commodities Maintenance Group. "I'm very proud of how our C-130 team responded to get these aircraft back in the fight so quickly," said John Adams, Tactical Airlift Division chief. "I'm particularly proud of Lts. Randy Rogers and Eric Yerly, our C-130 aircraft battle damage repair engineers, who deployed to the forward location and led the effort to make the critical repairs happen. "To quote the commander of the AC-130U Gunship unit, Lt. Col. Phil Smith, there were truly an 'unbelievable amount of repairs made ... must be a record' as his aircraft were the first to be put back in the air," Adams added. Following the hail storm, experts in the C-130 Division here gathered details on what parts were damaged, with the majority of damage occurring to the aircraft's ailerons and elevators, as well as flaps, rudders and radomes. It was determined that the ailerons and elevators with cracks could be temporarily repaired. No cracks were found in any of the J model flight controls, which allowed them to be repaired more quickly than the special operations aircraft. Additional units assisting included EDMX teams from Tinker and Hill Air Force bases; and the 635th Supply Chain Operations Group at Scott Air Force Base. Robins' EDMX team arrived just two days after the hail storm, working every day to repair the aircraft. They assisted with six SOF aircraft, having five fully mission-capable and one awaiting a radome. The team also aided in the repair of additional C-130Js as well as offering engineering support to British forces on their aircraft. All aircraft were fully operational upon completion.