402nd EDMX Airmen train to maintain in austere conditions Published Sept. 2, 2011 By Jenny Gordon 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Team members from the 402nd Aircraft Maintenance Group's Expeditionary Depot Maintenance team can deploy worldwide in less than 24 hours. To ensure they're continuously ready to do that, the 68 members of EDMX undergo week-long training exercises five times a year, the last of which took place Aug. 22-26 at Warrior Air Base on the north end of base. Smoke bombs quietly diffused into a bright pink haze Aug. 23, combing over a C-130 in the early morning as several maintainers marched from a nearby bunker in full chemical suits and gas masks. For 12 hours each day, from midnight to noon, a group of 12 to15 trained as instructors looked on. "This prepares us to survive in wartime situations," explained Tech Sgt. Donald McMullin, EDMX lead assessor. "We go above and beyond. We want to make sure we are more prepared rather than not prepared enough. That's what we train our people to do - be proficient at other people's jobs so when we go somewhere, we work collectively to get the job done." The mission of the unit is simple and unique to the men and women who are handpicked from throughout the Air Force to serve on this special duty assignment. Each is highly specialized and trained to perform F-15, C-5 and C-130 aircraft battle and crash damage repairs, and can be called upon to deploy anywhere at any time. Maintenance teams include a mix of engineers, electricians, sheet metal and fuels systems specialists, and crew chiefs. Meanwhile, simulations such as those conducted during the exercise help ensure continuous preparation. The training base is used to simulate a deployed location, with three F-15s and a C-130 standing ready. "The whole system that happens when you are deployed is happening here as we're training," said Staff Sgt. Leslie Kearney, EDMX aircraft battle damage instructor. That training includes undergoing a ground attack against incoming opposing forces and reacting to a chemical attack as sheet metal maintainers patch a hole on the side of an aircraft. The most recent exercise included maintainers, still in chemical suits and masks, entering a perimeter searching for bombs and clearing an aircraft. Even while holed up in a nearby bunker, teams are trained to properly fill out forms while seated at desks wearing chemical suits and masks. Instructors also evaluate how teams react to self-aid and buddy care scenarios - for example, reacting when someone gets a metal shaving in an eye, breaks or burns an arm, has a heart attack or chokes on food. All have CPR training. The EDMX unit is the best of the best, known to fix aircraft that others can't, whether in the states or in Southwest Asia. They have done F-15 wing changes and vertical repairs in the field, and are working on C-130 throttle quadrant changes - they are one of the few organizations qualified to do the work. They're also proficient at removing and installing damaged C-130 wings. Depot field teams will soon travel to Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., to help repair C-130s damaged during a tornado in the region last April.