Page 5 - Nellis Creech NTTR Bullseye 2-5-16

BULLSEYE Feature 5February 5, 2016

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Maintaining the mission:

Ground equipment Airmen ensure RPA success

By Airman 1st Class Kristan Campbell U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christian Clausen received and used to stand up a new
location.
432nd Wing/ 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs Staff Sgt. Israel, 432nd Maintenance Squadron Aerospace Ground Equipment craftsman, left,
and Tech. Sgt. Nicholas, 432nd MXS AGE craftsman, right, secure safety restraints on equipment Maintaining AGE isn’t without its chal-
CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — Oct. 6, 2015, at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. The 432nd AGE shop sends packages of ground lenges, however. Recently the shop faced
With the rising need for remotely piloted support equipment to deployed locations to support remotely piloted aircraft missions abroad. obstacles such as manning, working with
airpower, Airmen work around the clock strategic planners, and transporting items
at both Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, than 20 Airmen on most days,” said Tech. Timothy, 432nd Maintenance Squadron to Nellis AFB that need repairs.
and abroad to bring the fight from the air. Sgt. Nicholas, 432nd MXS AGE crafts- commander. “My AGE Rangers have
man. “We undergo 30 inspections a taken that charge to heart. The mission “Our folks are creative and find ways
Among the many operations conduct- month, so for us to have such a high pass- capable rate of the pool of equipment to get the job done right,” Timothy said.
ed at Creech AFB, the Airmen responsible ing rate is unheard of.” [ready to go at a moment’s notice] directly “After we had lost our only machinist
for maintaining remotely piloted aircraft reflects the Wing’s readiness to respond to needed to fix discrepancies with some
ground support equipment might be With so much to do, the AGE members emerging threats for additional support.” of our items, they reached out to Nellis’
easy to miss. However, the Airmen of the set aside equipment that is ready to be 823rd MXS for assistance, who were gra-
432nd Maintenance Squadron’s Aero- sent within 72 hours to meet the mission Timothy went on to say that the cious enough to work our items in around
space Ground Equipment section, affec- anywhere in the world. shop established their mission capable their busy mission.”
tionately called “AGE Rangers” by their rate about six months ago when they
commander, work diligently behind the “Aircraft and equipment readiness deployed healthy equipment which was Timothy added that after a large
scenes, always prepared to exceed mission is the maintenance mission,” said Maj. amount of equipment returned from a
requirements. deployed location, AGE experts went into
overdrive to inspect and reconstitute the
For AGE, troubleshooting and repair- equipment. To overcome the manning
ing equipment to support the RPA mis- limitations downrange, the shop worked
sion is no easy task. The unit at Creech extended hours for several months to
is responsible for inspecting, servicing, achieve readiness for the equipment, and
maintaining, and transporting approxi- was able to achieve a 100 percent passing
mately 400 pieces of gear at home and rate.
multiple deployed locations.
“Personnel readiness is key to our abil-
“We get our guys the equipment down- ity to move downrange and execute the
range [that is] needed to carry out the mission,” Timothy said. “Our Airmen
mission,” said Senior Master Sgt. Steven, arrive on station and we immediately
432nd MXS Flight Chief. “RPA’s can’t take begin getting them through their task
off without ground support assistance, requirements [for upgrade training].”
and that’s just what we’re doing here.”
Not only are the AGE professionals
While the average mission capable rate efficient, but also they are also ready to
for AGE is about 85 percent, AGE person- deploy at a moment’s notice. At least three
nel at Creech have maintained a 95 mis- Airmen deploy downrange at a time while
sion capable rate, the highest the shop has the shop continues normal operations.
ever seen. With a crew less than a quarter
of a normal sized shop, AGE Airmen have “They accomplish amazing things,”
prevailed, keeping a positive attitude and Timothy said. “They worked together
camaraderie on the job. assessing discrepancies and prioritizing
the work to restore a healthy AGE pool,
“We keep our equipment in top condi- while being innovative in their thinking.”
tion, properly serviced, and with fewer

U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christian Clausen U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christian Clausen

Airman 1st Class Josh, 432nd Maintenance Squadron Aerospace Ground Equipment Tech. Sgt. Nicholas, 432nd Maintenance Squadron Aerospace Ground Equipment
journeyman, moves equipment to be shipped to a deployment location Oct. 6, 2015, at craftsman, loads pallets to be shipped to a deployment location Oct. 6, 2015, at Creech
Creech Air Force Base, Nev. The 432nd MXS AGE shop supports missions both at home and Air Force Base, Nev. The equipment being sent will be received by maintainers overseas
deployed locations by maintaining ground support equipment. In turn, this equipment and used for upkeep on the remotely piloted aircraft.
is used to maintain remotely piloted aircraft and various other functions that support
remotely piloted aircraft.