Page 12 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt 9-4-15

Sept. 4, 2015 Thunderbolt
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309th AMU: F

Story and photos by aircraft are available to support basic While the mai
Senior Airman F-16 training. cal part of trainin
maintenance un
Devante Williams Everything from the tires and air con- They have the fin
ditioning units to the bullets the aircraft takes off.
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs fire is maintained and inspected by the
AMU Airmen. “While the jet i
It takes a lot of work to keep an F-16 mission to make
Fighting Falcon flying, and it takes a lot “We make sure that the 309th FS has air- good to fly,” said
of people to keep the fighter squadrons craft that are ready to fly,” said Capt. Benja- dan Crosswhite,
at Luke Air Force Base mission-ready. min Abshire, 309th AMU officer in charge. “Anything that’s
To ensure this is accomplished, Luke “Machines get old and worn when they are A pilot can’t fly
organizes aircraft maintenance units to used repeatedly. That is what maintenance ready for takeoff
do the job. is here for. We fix it so the pilots will be able
to continue Luke’s mission.” Maintenance u
The Airmen of the 309th Aircraft Main- Luke’s mission a
tenance Unit combine talents and skills Working closely with a diverse crew we transition to
to ensure the aircraft of the 309th Fighter allows the AMU Airmen to better see the F-35 Lightni
Squadron are properly maintained. how they contribute to the mission of
producing the world’s greatest F-16 “Maintenance
The 309th AMU is a part of the 56th fighter pilots. in-hand,” said
Aircraft Maintenance Squadron which the fighter squa
provides intermediate and flightline “If we weren’t here, the planes wouldn’t squadrons supp
maintenance on F-16s. The squadron’s get taken care of and there would be no flawlessly, we ge
primary focus is to ensure mission-ready one to fix them,” Abshire said.

Airman 1st Class Jonathan Cain, 309th AMU aircraft weapons load crew Senior Airman Cody Labreck, 309th Aircraft Maintenance Unit engine specialist, works on the cockp
member, inspects inspection dates on equipment.