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Maintainer support of airborne school a fun, valuable opportunity

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nathan Allen
  • 15th Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR HICKAM, Hawaii --  It might be hard to tell a flying crew chief from a loadmaster when they all show up in flight suits ready to fly a sortie. Here's a hint: if you see an Airman in a flight suit working on a jet engine, it's probably not a loadmaster.

Two flying crew chiefs from the 15th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam zipped up their flight suits alongside the normal air crew and took the week-long journey to Fort Benning, Ga. from Oct. 9-15 to support the 507th Airborne School there. Regardless of the mission, being a flying crew chief means having an opportunity to experience new things.

"Being able to see the world is always fun," said Staff Sgt. Joseph Leugers, 15th AMXS flying crew chief. Meeting new people, seeing new places, doing new things...not all crew chiefs get this opportunity."

According to Staff Sgt. Jonathan Solomon, 15th AMXS flying crew chief, the experiences are fun, but the responsibility is great.

"Being a flying crew chief is not a deployment or a temporary duty," said Solomon. "It's a mission that requires an individual to perform their job to their fullest ability. It's a lot of responsibility."

Sergeant Solomon believes the advanced technology and mission capability a C-17 offers make being a flying crew chief on a C-17 a particular treat.

"The aircraft's capabilities go hand in hand with the advanced systems installed on it," Sergeant Solomon said. "Overall, it beats other aircraft in the realms of range, efficiency and reliability."

During the mission to Fort Benning, Sergeant Leugers was able to fly with the aircrew as it dropped passengers from the C-17's side doors.

"Going up and seeing the paratroopers jump was really cool to see," he said. "(Missions like these) give me better opportunities to learn more about the aircraft. I'm a hydraulics troop, but I'm flying on this mission as a crew chief. Experiences like these help broaden my career."

Sergeants Leugers' and Solomon's efforts did not go unnoticed just because they aren't part of a traditional aircrew. Brig. Gen. Bryan Owens, U.S. Army Infantry School Commandant, coined the duo for their ability to keep the plane in the air to drop paratroopers without a single incident or delay.

"We dropped a lot more paratroopers this week than they've dropped in a long time - about 2,300 in four days," Sergeant Leugers said. "When I went to jump week in Alaska, we only dropped 500 to 600 paratroopers in a week. We were really helping them out."

Sergeant Solomon said that the Air Force's joint training partnership with the Army is more than a mingling of the services. It is a co-dependency.

"(The Air Force) can't win any ground battles without the Army, and the Army can't transport troops or equipment without a plane."