Page 4 - Desert Lightning News So. AZ Edition, June 2019
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4                                                                             June 2019                                         Desert Lightning News

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‘Wise Guy’ back in sky to replace lost B-52

           Story and photo by Master Sgt.                          “This was a command wide effort, with reservists and         A B-52 Stratofortress, nicknamed “Wise Guy,” taxis
                         TED DAIGLE                             active duty offering a great deal of experience,” said Col.     into Barksdale Air Force Base, La., in May. The jet had
                                                                Robert Burgess, 307th Operations Group commander and            been sitting at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and
                                               307th Bomb Wing  pilot for the flight. “It took four months to get ready, so it  Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB since 2008.
                                                                was really a small effort on the aircrew side and a major       It is being returned to service to replace a B-52 lost
   BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. — In the cockpit               effort on the maintainer side.”                                 during takeoff in 2016.
of “Wise Guy,” a B-52H Stratofortress which had been bak-
ing in the Arizona sun at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance          The bomber had a team of 13 to 20 maintainers working           From there, it was all up to the air crew to get the bomber
and Regeneration Group since 2008, is a note that reads:        on it at any given time, said Master Sgt. Steven Sorge, a       to Barksdale AFB. The three-man crew, with more than
“AMARG, this is 60-034, a cold warrior that stood sentinel      307th Maintenance Squadron fuels system mechanic.               10,000 flying hours between them, flew the B-52 low and
over America from the darkest days of the Cold War to the                                                                       slow all the way to Louisiana.
global fight against terror. Take good care of her….until          “The jet had cracks in the rear landing gear and was
we need her again.”                                             missing two engines,” he said. “It also needed all its fuel        With the bomber safely at Barksdale AFB, Barnhill had
                                                                cells and hoses replaced, as well as its tires.”                time to reflect on his role in saving “Wise Guy” from becom-
   The plea, scrawled on a metal clipboard in black marker,                                                                     ing a historical footnote.
proved to be prophetic when both Reserve and active duty           “Wise Guy” also needed its egress system overhauled,
Airmen flew the jet to Barksdale Air Force Base May 14          said Master Sgt. Greg Barnhill, 307th Maintenance Squad-           “Bringing a bomber out of AMARG is a once in a lifetime
to begin the next phase of its life protecting U.S. interests   ron egress shop supervisor. An egress system allows the         chance and I have been able to do it twice,” he said. “It’s
at home and abroad.                                             aircrew to bail out of the aircraft in case of an emergency.    just an honor to bring it back into service.”

   The note’s unknown author probably knew the bomber’s            “All of our parts for repairing the ejection seats were         Fully restoring the jet will require 550 personnel across
chances of returning to active service were slim. AMARG is      basically in a five-gallon bucket,” he said. “It was like put-  multiple maintenance disciplines and cost approximately
often referred to as the “Boneyard” because aircraft sent to    ting together a jigsaw puzzle.”                                 $30 million, according to guidance released by Air Force
the desert environment are normally picked over for parts.                                                                      Global Strike Command. The aircraft is expected to be
Most B-52s sent there never fly again.                             Fortunately, maintainers like Sorge and Barnhill have a      completely restored by early 2021.
                                                                deep well of experience, having worked on B-52s for more
   But when the Air Force lost one of its bombers in 2016,      than two decades. They also had the advantage of the total
it started a chain of events that made “Wise Guy” only the      force integration system, which combines the experience
second B-52H ever to be taken from the 309th AMARG              of Reserve Airmen from the 307th BW with active-duty
for active service. The first, nicknamed “Ghost Rider,” was     Airmen from the 2nd BW.
brought to Barksdale AFB in 2015, also by members of the
307th and 2nd Bomb Wings.                                          “TFI worked great out there for us,” Barnhill said. “The
                                                                active-duty Airmen in our shop and those from 2nd BW
   With more than 17,000 flight hours in its history and        worked well as a team and were a big help.”
more than a decade baking in the desert, getting “Wise Guy”
airworthy required help from multiple sources.                     Once the maintainers completed the necessary repairs,
                                                                they ran multiple tests on the engines, landing gear, fuel
                                                                and egress systems to ensure the jet was flight worthy.

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