News

AFSOC vice commander talks mission, capabilities

  • Published
  • By Jenny Gordon
  • Robins Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  When you're leading troops across unpredictable terrain or taking fire from enemy forces, it's comforting to know an Air Force AC-130U gunship has got your six from somewhere above.

The mission of these "Spooky" gunships - operated by Air Force Special Operations Command - is so critical overseas that they're currently experiencing a high operations tempo. And, because they're used so much, it's important to upgrade and maintain them as quickly as possible so they can get back to the warfighter.

That's where the AFSOC Acceleration Plan comes in - an ambitious undertaking by the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex to perform programmed depot maintenance on six MC-130H Combat Talons and AC-130U gunships this fiscal year.

Last week's successful delivery of the first aircraft  from that plan equates to a successful mission accomplished by a team that spans across AFSOC, Lockheed Martin, the 402nd Aircraft Maintenance Group, 560th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Defense Logistics Agency and many others.

On Jan. 29 - just days away from that initial delivery - a crew flying a combat-ready AC-130U from Hurlburt Field, Fla., landed at Robins to the anticipation of hundreds of base employees.

The crew spent a few hours on the flight line, giving the workforce the unique opportunity to tour the aircraft, and thanking them for their dedication.

Among the crew was Maj. Gen. Eugene Haase, AFSOC vice commander, who made the hour-long flight to Middle Georgia from the Gulf Coast.

Working closely with Robins leadership on the acceleration program during the past year, Haase described the quick turnaround at Robins was directly proportional to aircraft availability downrange.

"This has been a real success story," said Haase, on the AFSOC Acceleration program. "The quicker we get them out of the PDM line here, the quicker we can get them into the battlespace and also train with them back at Hurlburt Field."

Capt. Karl Cirulis, an AC-130U pilot with the 4th Special Operations Squadron, said there's a high demand for gunships all over the world, resulting in the need for their continued upkeep in the depot.

"Every time we fly we're pushing the aircraft to the limit ... just to get airborne we're using maximum power," he said. "Any time we're pushing them out as far as maintenance, it alleviates the stress put on the aircraft downrange. The maintenance here is vital to us."

To perfom that maintenance, a dedicated team of 560th Aircraft Mainten-ance Squadron mechanics was assembled last year to accelerate the workload.
Ongoing process improvements in the squadron have resulted in the first accelerated aircraft - the first of six in fiscal 2016 - delivered in 98 days from a 183-day customer requirement.

Looking out at a line filled with dozens of visitors - many of them C-130 mechanics, waiting for a few minutes to tour the inside of the aircraft - Jim Russell, 560th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron director, highlighted the significance of the visit.

"Now they understand how important their maintenance piece is to the overall mission of AFSOC," said Russell. "To have the operators standing by every piece of equipment, explaining how things tie in to what they do, was a pretty unique aspect."
Stepping out from the aircraft following a tour was Zach Hartzog, a C-130 scheduler.

"I enjoyed it, especially the gun portion which I thought was pretty interesting," he said.
Seeing an AC-130U in battle-ready form was an eye-opening experience for work lead Tim Martin.

"To see the work we do in action feels pretty good. It makes the work worth it," he said.

The significance of the acceleration workload across other maintenance squadrons at Robins remains to be seen. Lessons learned are also being studied by maintenance group and squadron commanders from the Ogden and Oklahoma City air logistics complexes, who toured the AFSOC acceleration line last week, according to Russell.

The feedback from the visit was positive, with interest in the line's upfront supportability and choreographed synchronization efforts that were performed on the first aircraft.

There's currently a second AFSOC aircraft on station, a Combat Talon that recently had its outer wings installed.

Being able to cut flow days in half on the accelerated PDM line was not lost on members of the program office.

"Being able to slash nearly 50 percent of the time it usually takes to get one of these aircraft out is monumental," said Lt. Col. Joseph Wimmer, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Special Operations Forces/Personnel Recovery, Fixed Wing Branch material leader. "The less time that this aircraft spends in the depot means more time we have in the ability to get them modified, enabling them to do the things they need in order to support the warfighter, troops on the ground and our national objectives overseas."

While it's not every day a gunship arrives on the Robins flight line for several hours of morale boosting and appreciation, it was a welcome addition before its voyage home.
"We're grateful that AFSOC took an afternoon to fly a sortie here and have our civilian airmen see the aircraft in its full configuration," said Col. Jennifer Hammerstedt, 402nd Aircraft Maintenance Group commander.

"A lot of people know what the gunships and what AFSOC does for the warfighter - but to meet the air crew and ask them questions sends a great message to our folks of who is on the receiving end of what we produce."