Team Robins displays ‘cann’ do attitude during Dover C-5 fix Published April 15, 2011 By Wayne Crenshaw 78 ABW/PA ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Maintainers at Robins are sometimes asked to be cannibals. In their world, cannibalization is a last-resort effort to help get aircraft in the field flying again when the need is urgent and parts are not available through normal channels. The maintainers take parts off aircraft here for programmed depot maintenance and ship them to the field. Because PDM takes months to complete, they have time to replace the cannibalized parts. It's not something done automatically. Every cannibalization request must meet certain requirements, including it not delay PDM, and be approved by the system program manager. Numerous organizations at Robins joined forces recently to rapidly cannibalize a complex and enormous part and get it to a customer in just seven days. The part was a rear cargo door for a C-5M Super Galaxy at Dover Air Force Base, Del., which had an important mission to fly March 23. The aircraft's original door had extensive corrosion, which made the airlifter unsafe to fly. However, there were no spare doors anywhere in the Air Force supply chain, and the earliest a contractor could provide a replacement was today. Robins received the request March 12 and the door was ready for pick up March 19, giving Dover maintainers enough time to install and test it. Robins workers not only had to "cann" the door, which is 38-feet long and weighs more than 1,500 pounds, but also make repairs to it since the door had arrived in damaged condition. It also had to be repainted, since it had already been depainted as part of the PDM process. Last, a crate had to be built to ship the massive part. The effort was significant, partly because there are only four C-5Ms in the inventory, said Dave Nakayama, director of the 559th Maintenance Squadron, which performs C-5 PDM. The "M" stands for modernized, which means the four aircraft are the most advanced C-5s in the inventory. The Aerospace Sustainment Directorate C-5 program office processed the request and coordinated the effort, the 559th cann'ed the door, the 402nd Commodities Maintenance Group repaired it, and the 402nd Maintenance Support Squadron scheduled the painting of the door. Defense Distribution Depot Warner Robins, a subordinate organization of the Defense Logistics Agency, oversaw the packing of the part. The door would normally have been trucked to Dover, but due to the urgency, Dover diverted a C-17 on a training mission to pick it up. The 78th Logistics Readiness Squadron Air Freight section oversaw the loading of the door onto the aircraft. Supervisors, planners and others put in evening and weekend hours to complete the mission. "It just shows how important teamwork is and how well we can do as a team," Nakayama said. "From the big-picture standpoint, all the pieces came together." He said it also demonstrates how Robins plays a significant role in keeping aircraft flying, even when they aren't here. "This Center does a whole lot more than just fix aircraft," he said. "That's an aspect a lot of people don't know about." Shirlyn Granville, C-5 program manager, processes all of the cannibalization requests for the giant aircraft. From her office here she has coordinated with Team Robins members to get grounded C-5s around the world flying again, including those in combat areas. "When you get a cannibalization request, the plane is grounded, and field maintainers have looked everywhere and not been able to find the part, so all of them are urgent and hot," Granville said. "The key on this one was there were so many organizations which had to work on it. The multi-function team was at its best." The efforts of those at Robins who worked the request were much appreciated by Dover officials. Col. Thomas Kauth, commander of the 436th Maintenance Group, sent an e-mail thanking the members of Team Robins for their work. "Particular thanks to all those who worked extended shifts/hours to make this happen," he wrote. Although the job was finished in time for the plane to make its March 23 mission, the aircraft was delayed for other reasons and took off March 27. It has been flying missions to "new operations in Southern Europe/Northern Africa ever since," according to Lt. Col. Brian Peters of the 436th. "Robins really pulled out all the stops to give us this cargo door in just seven days," Peters wrote in an e-mail to Nakayama. "All other sources were projecting at least 30 days of lead time. Your quick and comprehensive response put this aircraft back into the fight at least a month faster than other options." Col. Michael Gregg, the Aerospace Sustainment Directorate's Galaxy Division chief, was also appreciative of everyone's effort. The division provides worldwide program management and sustainment for the C-5 fleet. "This fantastic effort from Team Robins is one forward step on our journey to become a world class organization and routinely exceed our customers' expectations," Gregg said.