Maintainers get war ready at Red Flag Published Oct. 31, 2009 By Tech. Sgt. Chris Stagner Red Flag Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- As Red Flag 10-1 ends, it has been many things to many people. For the pilots, it's been a chance to hone their skills as warfighters. For the pararescuemen, it was an opportunity to simulate doing what they do 'so others may live.' Intel analysts practiced sharing their vast knowledge on adversarial threats, and safety specialists worked diligently to minimize risks to all exercise participants. All of this was done so Airmen of all ranks and specialties are better-prepared to fly, fight and win in a wartime environment. For the aircraft maintainers deployed to Nellis Air Force Base for Red Flag 10-1, the goal was the same, but the lessons they take home are a little more pointed. The 55th Aircraft Maintenance Unit from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., is preparing for an upcoming deployment and Red Flag was the perfect venue to hone their skills in a contingency environment. "This gives us a building block to use in preparation for our upcoming deployment," said Chief Master Sgt. Mike Preston, 55th AMU maintenance superintendent who is participating in his seventh Red Flag. "This team is deploying together, so the more we work as a team the better prepared we are to be the tip of the spear in our deployed location." Something becoming more common for Airmen during deployments is working with coalition partners at deployed locations. Red Flag 10-1 allowed the Shaw maintainers to familiarize themselves with Norwegian and Dutch air force maintainers, and, according to Chief Preston, the experience is invaluable. "We get to integrate with our coalition partners here and see how they do business," he said. "It gives us more perspective on how they do maintenance in comparison to how we do it." Staff Sgt. Branden Cate, a dedicated crew chief from the 55th AMU at his fourth Red Flag agreed. "It (Red Flag) presents a great opportunity for training and integrating with our peers from other bases and partner air forces," he said. "When I'm at Shaw, I don't get to work with maintainers from Lakenheath or Norway, so this is great to see how other people do what we do." For Airman 1st Class Jedidiah Williamson, from the 494th AMU at RAF Lakenheath, England, the training was a great change from home-station operations. "It's been a great opportunity," the weapons loader, who is at his first Red Flag, said. "At home, we load inert bombs in a controlled environment. Here we've been able to work with live bombs and I feel like I'm more prepared for deployments because of this experience." Sergeant Cate shared that sentiment. "It's always gratifying for a crew chief to see a plane go out with bombs and come back empty," he said. "It really brings into focus what we do." It's not always easy for the maintainers deployed for Red Flag though. "The competition for back shop support with all the other units adds a challenging dynamic compared to how we work at home," said Tech. Sgt. Chris Fortson, a flightline expediter from the 494th AMU. "The sheer volume of aircraft here for Red Flag puts a strain on Nellis resources, so it poses unique challenges that prepare us for possible situations downrange." Sergeant Fortson added that the high operations tempo, logistics challenges and routine maintenance issues faced at Red Flag brought out the best in his Airmen. "We had some issues over the first weekend that left us with only five fully mission capable jets," he said. "In one night we brought that up to 90 percent. That shows the focus of our guys here. They did a excellent job of isolating malfunctions and turning aircraft."
