Page 1 - Desert Lightning News 12-4-15

9RO1R Serving Southern Arizona’s military community, including Davis-Monthan Air Force Base December 4, 2015

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Pride in perfection

Airman 1st Class Ashley N. Steffen

355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

DAVIS MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Ashley N. Steffen)
Ariz. -- The constant strive for perfection, pride
in their aircraft, and responsibility of knowing Two 355th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron A-10C Thunderbolt II crew chiefs prepare to cover an A-10 and extract its pilot at Davis-
they have someone’s life in their hands; these Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Nov. 4, 2015. Crew chiefs cover the jet’s intake to prevent foreign object damage to the engines.
are a few examples of what A-10C Thunderbolt
II crew chiefs have resting on their shoulders is known for having its own personality and “Sometimes it’s resetting the system and wait-
each day. quirks and crew chiefs have to learn and adapt ing a moment or shaking the hose a certain way
to each personality. so it creates a better seal,” Gillespie said.
“The never ending pursuit of perfection is
what the job demands,” said Senior Airman “Every jet has its own idiosyncrasies and as the Some crew chiefs even have their own tradi-
Yevgeniy Sokolov, 355th Aircraft Maintenance crew chief you get very familiar with each jet’s tions or ritualistic superstitions that they per-
Squadron crew chief. “There can be no mistakes, quirks,” Gillespie said. “These can be caused by a form before each flight like tapping a wing before
something as simple as a missed screw can cause number of things, like different rates of wear in take-off, kissing a specific panel, or knocking a
us to lose an aircraft.” the metal, previous repairs. But there are several panel a number of times, all in hopes that their
times we can’t really explain why a jet ‘acts’ the aircraft will fly smoothly for their pilot.
Once assigned to a jet, the crew chiefs’ names way it does, so we say it has a personality.”
are placed on their aircraft. This shows their “Everyone does something that’s the same ev-
dedication to work, and that they are worthy to Every aircraft has something unique about it, ery time they launch their aircraft,” Sokolov said.
have their name on a beast of a jet. something the crew chief has to learn to over- “It’s a tradition for them, whether it’s the way
come in order to get their job done and their air- they salute, or tap the wing before they taxi out
Pride keeps the Airmen working hard every craft safely in the sky. for a launch.”
day; they go into work knowing that the aircraft
they are assigned to is their responsibility for
the day.

“Having our name on the aircraft represents
our work,” said Senior Airman Anthony Naugle,
355th AMXS crew chief. “Working on the air-
craft, fixing them, has to give you great pride.”
There are competitions to show off that satisfac-
tion in their work. Quarterly competitions, such
as the Proud Hog Competition, put up each
squadron’s best aircraft against each other.

“The aircraft and crew chiefs are judged on
mechanical condition and appearance, tool box
condition and appearance and crew chief ad-
herence to AFI 36-2903,”said Master Sgt. Jessica
Gillespie, 357th Aircraft Maintenance Unit Air-
craft Power General section chief.

A crew of quality assurance personnel pre-
forms inspections on the top jets. The jet with
the least discrepancies gains points towards an
overall score.

“The guys take a lot of pride in their aircraft,”
Gillespie said. “Winning Proud Hog for the
group is saying that you are the best crew chief
on the line. They also get their name on a plaque,
a certificate and a coin.”

Winning a competition means you have
to know the jet inside and out. Each aircraft