News

Maintainers foster Team Spirit with aircrews

  • Published
  • By Wayne Crenshaw
  • 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  A unique customer-relations program employed for years by the F-15 maintenance section at Robins is expanding into other platforms.

With each F-15 here for programmed depot maintenance in the 561st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, the plane's crew chief is invited to spend a couple of days learning exactly what happens during the process.

Air Force Materiel Command is now expanding the program into other platforms, including the C-5 and C-130 section here, and calling it Team Spirit.

Master Sgt. Thomas Ball, crew chief of a Portland Air National Guard F-15, spent two full days with maintainers here recently.

"It's absolutely incredible," he said. "I had no idea what they truly do to these planes."

The program also has a practical purpose in that it allows Ball and other crew chiefs access to serial numbers of parts within the planes they otherwise wouldn't be readily able to access.

Lt. Col. Craig Romero, 561st deputy director, said the program has helped both maintainers and operational crews.

"It really fosters the relations between the field and the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center," Romero said. "A lot of things are done with aircraft, and this allows them to come and see what we are doing during PDM."

Ball explained reliability is especially important for his unit's aircraft because its mission is defending American airspace.

When radar shows an unauthorized aircraft, the F-15s are launched to investigate, and fire if necessary, so they have to be ready at a moment's notice.

In one recent example, he said the aircraft had to respond when a small-aircraft pilot flew into airspace that had been restricted due to a presidential visit. The pilot responded to orders to leave the area.

Col. Randall Burke, the 402nd Aircraft Maintenance Group commander, said learning from operational crew members is helpful to maintainers.

"We learn from the field units what their biggest concerns are and what's affecting mission-capable rates," Burke said.