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Mobilized maintainers support troop buildup

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Andria J. Allmond
  • 512th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  One hundred thirty-six reservists from Dover's 512th Maintenance Group have been mobilized since April 5 to support the on-going Afghanistan troop buildup.

They are activated for at least six months to provide airlift support for Operation Enduring Freedom. The airlift operation supports President Barack Obama's plan, announced in December, to deploy 30,000 additional American troops.

Some of the Airmen may deploy to Southwest Asia, but most of them are stationed at Dover AFB or Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to support the movement of armored vehicles, helicopters and other support equipment going to Afghanistan.

"Our No. 1 goal here is to get troops and equipment flying, utilizing the airframes we have here, by keeping our aircrafts fully mission capable," said Master Sgt. Calvin Little, 512th Maintenance Squadron first sergeant.

He is working with the 436th Maintenance Group's first sergeant to "make things move, get troops where they need to be and make airlift happen."

Most of the Airmen volunteered for the airlift support duty. They are satisfying three critical areas: forward deployment, backfilling for deployed active-duty members and maintaining the increased on-base operations tempo.

"A lot of the preparation to go into the (area of responsibility) occurs here at Dover," said Chief Master Sgt. Christopher Ford, 512th Maintenance Group superintendant. "Essentially, as reservists, we're here doing what we're meant to do."

When Team Dover received the troop build-up tasking, manpower was needed in the areas of sheet metal, fuels, aerospace ground equipment and isochronal inspection dock, said Chief Ford.

Many reservists filling these positions bring career continuity to the activation.

"We come to the table with experience," said Master Sgt. William Taylor, 512th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron structure repair section supervisor.

In addition to the air reserve technicians working on a daily basis, many of the traditional reservists are highly trained and experienced maintainers, according to Sergeant Taylor.

"That amount of experienced people was something active-duty was lacking at the beginning of the build-up," he said. "So, when the positions came down, we had the people to fill them."

Not all the Reserve maintainers will be activated for six months; some are slated to work 180 days, while others are scheduled for 210 days.

"Those who work on the C-5 (Galaxy) are going to be on orders for six months," said Staff Sgt. Kevin McCann II, 512th Maintenance Squadron sheet metal specialist on a seven-month tour. "But, those on the C-17 (Globemaster III) are set to work 210 days."

However, the timetable for the Reserve wrench-turner's activation may not be as secure as the bolts they fasten. Despite the number of days they were originally scheduled to work, the maintainers are prepared to put the mission first no matter how long it takes.

"This unit is an integral part of Dover AFB," said Chief Ford. "These Airmen want to be here. They want to see the job get done, and get done right. We won't leave until we can call this mission a success."