Beale maintainers team for success

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class George Cloutier
  • 9th Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (ACCNS) --  Maintenance warriors from every career specialty and members throughout Team Beale came together recently to help avert potential loss of life and millions of dollars of military equipment.

The maintenance operation was one of the largest Team Beale has seen to date and began when the U-2 Dragon Lady was grounded March 13. Nearly every shop in the 9th Maintenance Group came together to pull off the operation. Units from around Beale, including the 9th Support Division, the 9th Logistics Readiness Squadron's Petroleum, Oils and Lubricants Flight, 9th Services Squadron and the base chapel provided support for the operation. These units, as well as many more, came together in a display of teamwork and dedication to the U-2 and the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission.

Since the U-2 fleet was grounded, Beale maintainers have been on 12-hour shifts, working tirelessly to get the fleet back in the air.

"I applaud the selfless efforts of all team Beale organizations, specifically the maintenance professionals, who came together to get the U-2 back in the air," said Brig. Gen. H.D. Polumbo Jr., 9th Reconnaissance Wing commander. "These Airmen symbolize why we are the best Air Force in the world."

A small malfunction, which could have led to disaster, was first noticed during a routine maintenance procedure on a U-2's fuel tanks by Tech. Sgt. Charles Warren, 9th Maintenance Squadron fuels craftsman.

After noticing fuel seeping from a sump tank, Sergeant Warren removed the suspect fuel sump tank and found three small burn marks in the tank, said Col. Stephen Sheehy, 9th MXG commander. One of the burn marks, which was caused by a wire that was arcing against the fuel tank, went all the way through the tank.

With the potential of a deadly combination of fuel and electrical sparks, the severity of the situation was immediately recognized.

"After we found the problem, I realized that this could have been catastrophic if the wire had ignited the fuel inside the tank," Sergeant Warren said.

The problem was brought to the attention of Beale leadership, who immediately elevated the issue to Air Combat Command and the system program manager. An Immediate Action Time Compliance Technical Order was released to inspect all U-2 aircraft which subsequently grounded the entire fleet until inspections and/or repairs could be completed.

"Grounding the fleet is never an easy decision to make, especially when you realize you're grounding 90 percent of the ISR capability in the world," said Chief Master Sgt. Timothy Barnett, 9th MXG senior enlisted superintendent. "In a time of war when you're going to put airplanes down, that's a decision not taken lightly."

Immediately after the fleet was grounded, Beale maintenance personnel began working 12-hour shifts, providing 24-hour support to get the U-2 back in the air. Their task was daunting: fix all local U-2s and coordinate maintenance for deployed U-2s worldwide, each needing more than 80 hours of maintenance.

While the core repairs were simple, installing two clamps that would hold the wire bundle away from the fuel tank, each plane needed to be laboriously disassembled before repairs could be made.

"We found the worst possible place on the airplane to have to install two clamps," Chief Barnett said. "For two hours of clamp installation, we have had to perform more than 80 hours of other maintenance per plane to facilitate the repair, and that's a best-case scenario."

In addition to safety improvements, other benefits accompanied the extensive maintenance. One example was the training opportunities provided, especially to younger maintenance Airmen who may normally wait months to perform many of these core task opportunities, slowing skill-level upgrades.

"This has been a golden training opportunity," said Master Sgt. Todd Mohs, 9th Maintenance Squadron production superintendent. "We're able to get a lot of our new folks and supervisors trained."

"All of the guys here are getting tons of experience that we're going to use for the rest of our careers," said Senior Airman Erik Larson, 9th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief. "It's a curse to see the whole fleet down like this, but it's a blessing for the training opportunities."

Despite the difficulty of working long shifts, often times in cramped conditions, Team Beale maintenance personnel understood the importance of keeping the U-2 flying, as it provides near real-time imagery to commanders overseas fighting the Global War on Terror.

"When we heard about the (time compliance technical order), we knew the significance of what we were being asked to do," said Tech. Sgt. James Capps, 9th MXS fuels craftsman.

"These guys are doing such a phenomenal job out here and they know they're not out here for a futile effort," said Master Sgt. Forrest Harrington, 9th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron support flight chief. "They know they're out here to impact the Global War on Terror and are making huge contributions to operations overseas."

"I never thought the war on terror could be affected so much by something that a couple of maintainers found on a Saturday afternoon here at Beale," Sergeant Warren said. "This just goes to show that what we do here really matters."