2nd AMXS Airmen build shop from ground, up

by Staff Sgt. Amber Corcoran
2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs

4/17/2014 - BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- Through potential blood, sweat and okay, maybe not tears, Airmen from the 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron recently opened a new support section built with their bare hands to improve the flow of flightline maintenance activities.

From crew chiefs to weapons loaders and hydraulics to electronic warfare technicians, the Airmen who form the 20th Aircraft Maintenance Unit Support section come from several Air Force Specialty Codes who work on the flightline. The Airmen rotate periodically to gain a different perspective maintaining the support equipment rather than just working with it to perform maintenance on the B-52H Stratofortress.

All the equipment, such as non-powered and minor tools and servicing and test equipment, sets that are used to troubleshoot electronic and hydraulic faults, for the aircraft are located in the support section.

"Everything that goes out to the flightline has to be controlled on some level," said Staff Sgt. Cristopher Weinberg, 20th AMU Support consolidated tool kit custodian. "We're that control for the tools and test equipment that aren't personally issued by the squadron."

In the beginning, the room in mind for the new AMU support section, re-built by the 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron into an office, was scouted to figure out a layout that would be cohesive for the flow of people moving in and out with potentially heavy equipment in their hands.

"After a plan was set, we went right in putting together the shelving that was bought and lining them with wood for security and rigidity and building the storage cabinets," said Weinberg, who is also an electronic warfare technician when working the flightline. "Mid-January, as many people as we could round together, started literally moving tools, finding a place for them and loading them into inventory, which we also had to create. It wasn't just physical labor, but also sitting at the computers making sure the electronic tracking system was ready to go."

While the move was happening, the 96th AMU Support section maintained operations for both AMUs with half the equipment until the new support section opened April 1.

"Communication was huge during this time since equipment and tools had to be split up between the two sections and tools were still coming back from the Red Flag exercise and deployments," Weinberg said. "We needed to make sure each AMU had the capabilities required to maintain and complete the mission."

The camaraderie and morale was also apparent throughout the move as the Airmen and NCOs worked together diligently to build the shop in less than three months.

"When we first walked in, there were just a few shelves and lockers- it was like a blank canvas," said Senior Airman Andrew Arnold, 20th AMU Support custodian, who is a crew chief when working the flightline. "In the first few weeks, [the Airmen] were able to give most of the input and create what we did here based on the design by the people who actually work the counter. We asked everyone's opinions on what could make things more efficient and with our supervisor's advice on the tech data to remain within regulations, we built this. Everyone worked really well as a team and we had a great time- we're close knit."

In the end, the move was no small task, said Weinberg. Even on paper, it was hard to explain what level of labor building the new AMU shop really consisted of.

"We physically moved between 1,500 and 2,000 different tools and equipment weighing anywhere between five and 250 pounds, built shelves, cut wood, relocated everything - it was a major tasking," Arnold said. "On top of moving everything, creating the database for the tools and loading every single item was time consuming. While everything was being identified and organized, the Airmen stayed late without being asked- they just wanted to work. I give them major credit for what happened here."

Not only did the large tasking allow the Airmen and NCOs time to build rapport with each other, working within the newly built AMU section gave them new appreciation for the tools that have always been around.

"I have a better appreciation for being on this side of the counter than being the one on the other side just taking the tools," said Senior Airman Audrick Dickson, 20th AMU Support custodian and an electronic warfare technician when working the flightline.
"Support has a lot of programs which I never knew about and the custodians aren't just issuing the tools, they're servicing and repairing them. I get to see a different side of the flightline and different aspects of the job, I really enjoy it."

The Airmen also get to see the task at hand for keeping more than 7,500 individual tools serviceable - meaning each tool requires some kind of maintenance on some kind of level at some point of the day, month or year.

"It's a constant, never-ending cycle," said Weinberg. "When new Airmen join the shop through rotation, they may not have a real respect for the tools they normally just get handed. A toolbox has about 150 different items in it and when they see the maintenance involved in keeping the toolbox rust free, making sure all the broken stuff gets replaced and getting wires repaired, they gain a new respect for what the tools and equipment are and when they cycle back out, they remember the pain of rust busting and repairing wires and they are more careful with them."

Since April 1, the 20th AMU Support section has been busy taking care of its almost 300 Airmen who constantly flow through the section to receive and return tools to support the B-52 mission.

"One benefit of us being open is that the wait time has decreased dramatically; the Airmen had to drive several hangars down the flightline to stand in line at the 96th AMU for tools and equipment to start their daily jobs," said Weinberg. "Now, they're able to walk out of their offices down the hall to us, and even the 96th has a smaller wait time with half the Airmen gone from their lines."

With the new 20th AMU Support section and the 96th AMU Support section's operations in full swing, it will provide better access for all the Airmen and drastically reduce customer wait times, said Lt. Col. Brady Wilkins, 2nd AMXS commander.

"Our squadrons [maintainers] have done an amazing job de-centralizing the support section and splitting it from one entity back into two flight level sections," Wilkins said. "The split will return authority and responsibility back to the flight level leadership, putting the span of control closer to where the rubber meets the ramp.

"These benefits improve the quality of life in our work environment and help us better support the 2nd Bomb Wing will fully mission capable aircraft for the nuclear and conventional mission. The achievements we've made is no surprise, I have the best maintainers in the Air Force Global Strike Command."