Bones turn and burn during surge operation

by Senior Airman Jonathan Stefanko
7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

6/17/2013 - DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The 9th Bomb Squadron tested the capabilities of their aircrew and maintainers during a four-day surge operation June 10-13, launching a total of 58 sorties and setting the stage for future operations.

The training mission allowed aircrew members and maintainers to practice as if they were operating in a deployed environment, with the goal to launch as many sorties as possible within the shortest amount of time. To do this, hours of mission planning was accomplished beforehand, shrinking what would normally have taken two days to put a B-1 in the air into one.

"The typical process for a flyer would be to come in and plan for six hours, brief and then fly the next day," said Maj. Mike Taylor, 9th BS chief of weapons and tactics. "But to fly the amount of sorties we needed for the surge, the mission planning was done before we arrived, allowing us time to come in, get what we need and fly, all within about two hours."

Furthermore, due to the increase in flights, the B-1 Bomber required more maintenance than usual, according to the 7th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Airmen, who ensured more jets were in the air than on the ground.

"The B-1 can be very labor intensive at times, especially when we are short on man power, money and resources," said Master Sgt. George Campbell, 7th AMXS production expeditor. "But as a maintainer, we never want to turn down a challenge. When told we needed to launch almost double the amount of aircraft we normally do, we went straight to work and hit it head on."

To accomplish the mission successfully, maintainers had to incorporate hot pit refueling, a procedure that rapidly refuels an aircraft while the engines are running. By doing this, the longevity of the jet is increased, reducing the need to replace parts. Maintainers say this step is crucial for an aircraft that has been around since the 1980s. The procedure also allows the aircrew to keep valuable systems running, which decreases the time it normally takes to restart the systems and then re-launch the aircraft.


"I take a lot of pride in the aircraft I work on," said Senior Airman Antwan Henry, 7th AMXS crew chief. "There are numerous times I would come in early, stay late or even work through my lunch break because I believe in having my aircraft ready. Going through the surge gives us an opportunity to train all of our new Airmen, so they have a better understanding of the importance of what we do and how to accomplish it to the best of their ability in a timely manner."