373 TRS readies international aircrew for flight

by 2nd Lt. Susan Carlson
Joint Base Charleston Public Affairs

6/3/2010 - JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. (AFNS) -- Twelve Royal Australian Air Force aircraftsmen deployed to Joint Base Charleston to train with Airmen here for three months.

Airmen from JB Charleston and JB Lewis-McChord, Washington, train foreign nationals from countries that are either buying the C-17 Globemaster III or have some future endeavor working on or with the aircraft, said Tech. Sgt. Bryan Doughty, a training instructor with the 373rd Training Squadron, Det. 5.

U.S. officials require this training for aircrew members from any country purchasing C-17s.

In the case of the Australians, a number of aircrew are sent by the Royal Australian Air Force a few times a year and are trained to work on every system in the C-17, Sergeant Doughty said.

Unlike aircraft maintenance Airmen in the Air Force, the RAAF aircraftsmen must be able to work on every part of the aircraft except the electrical system.

"This is very, very good training, but we are trying to come to grips with a little bit of it, only because unlike the USAF, we don't specialize in particular systems," said Sgt. Glenn King, one of the Australian aircrew members deployed to JB Charleston. "We do it all. Anything that isn't electrical, we look after it."

Before their journey to the U.S., the Australians were given a short pre-training familiarization package in their country. The brief pre-training covers the basics of aircraft maintenance and safety, whereas the greater part of actual hands-on training is done here at JB Charleson and at JB McChord, Sergeant King said.

"We have some training areas up and running in Australia, but (the majority are) here," said Sgt. Craig Fenton, another Australian aircrew member. "The indoor training facility is a much safer environment. You don't have to worry about anyone standing around the plane."

For some of the aircraftsmen, the C-17 is the first aircraft they have worked on, while others, such as Sergeant King and Sergeant Fenton, have been in the RAAF for a number of years working on older airframes. However, when attending this course, they all start at ground zero.

The current class of students is just beginning its fourth week of training, and will be returning home July 23. Upon their return, most will be going back to their respective teams, working on the four C-17s the Australian military owns. These aircraft were purchased by the Australian government approximately four years ago, and are a part of the global C-17 scheme used for airlift in support of joint operations, Sergeant King said.

Before this purchase, the Royal Australian Air Force used C-130 Hercules and DCH-4 Caribous, which have since been retired after 45 years of active-duty service, Sergeant King said.