Post-open house FOD walk scheduled for Nov. 15 Published Oct. 28, 2010 By Tech. Sgt. Randy James 57th Maintenance Group Quality Assurance NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Nellis Air Force Base hosts one of the most dynamic open houses on record. Whether it's the churn of vintage aircraft carving through the sky, or the roar of the Thunderbirds resonating through your bones, the event is good old-fashioned fun for the entire family. In one instance, the level of simultaneous aerobatic activity may be overwhelming, and in the next, it's over. Enthusiasts vacate the premises and retreat to their humble abodes excited about next year. What many of them don't realize is the amount of debris generated by an event of such magnitude and its potential to wreak havoc on an aircraft. In order to protect the base's assets from foreign object damage following the open house, Team Nellis hosts an annual post-event foreign-object damage walk. This year's walk takes place from 6:15-8 a.m. Nov. 15. The event is a mandatory formation for all personnel assigned to the base, regardless of unit or wing of assignment. Although it is on a traditional "blues Monday," the installation commander has declared the uniform of the day to be the Airman battle uniform or battle dress uniform. Starting points will be broken down by unit and that information will be passed to Airmen through their chains of command within the next week. "The post-air show FOD walk is a preventative measure intended to mitigate the damaging effects of foreign object debris left behind on the Nellis ramp," said Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Vergara, 57th Wing FOD prevention NCO and organizer for this year's walk. "By having all of Team Nellis walk the line together, we're able to cover a large amount of space in a short period of time and significantly decrease our chances of missing something that could damage an aircraft." So why should everyone care about FOD prevention? Foreign-object damage accounts for millions of dollars in repairs and replacement costs every year. In Fiscal Year 2009, Air Combat Command alone tallied some $11 million in aircraft and equipment damage due to FOD; those numbers are staggering--in many instances, preventable. Since flying is the Air Force's top priority, monies spent on repairs take away from other programs. There are some circumstances that are absolutely unavoidable such as a bird getting ingested into the intake of an F-15E at 20,000 feet, however, Airmen can control debris on the Nellis flightline. Everyone has a duty to prevent FOD whenever possible and the post-open house FOD walk is an excellent opportunity to contribute to this important mission. For more information or questions regarding the post-open house FOD walk, contact Sergeant Vergara at 652-7818.
