Keeping them airworthy
There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]Wednesday, May 7, 2008
By MITCH SHAW
Standard-Examiner staff
HILL AIR FORCE BASE -- There's no room for mistakes when working on some of the top U.S. warfighters.
That's why, when it comes to keeping the world safe in the ongoing battle against terrorism, the civilian team fighting the battle at home works as earnestly as the Air Force's active-duty service members.
Hill Air Force Base employs nearly 20,000 civilians, who make up more than 90 percent of its total work force.
As one of three aircraft maintenance facilities in the Air Force Materiel Command, Hill provides worldwide engineering and logistics managementfor the F-16 Fighting Falcon, A-10 Thunderbolt II and the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
The base also performs depot maintenance on the F-22, F-16, A-10 and C-130 aircraft, keeping the planes in the air and performing at the best of their capabilities.
The 309th Maintenance Wing has more than 8,000 employees. Most are civilians who have never served in the military or had any previous military affiliation before working at the base.
They don't wear an Air Force uniform, but their role in keeping Air Force planes in the air is just as integral as the pilots flying the aircraft.
"Nothing happens in a vacuum," said Gregory Hoffman, director of the 571st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. "There are a lot of components involved in success and in defending freedom."
Hoffman's squadron performs precision upgrades to the A-10 Thunderbolt that make the plane, which was originally going to be retired in the late 1990s, viable until at least 2028.
"It's a pretty old plane, in relative terms," Hoffman said, "so we had to ask ourselves, 'What do we do with it today?' because the battlefield is totally different today than what this plane was designed for."
The 571st has a relatively small work force of about 100 employees, and many learn on the job, sometimes spending as long as two years in on-the-job-training status.
"I have the youngest work force in the aircraft group," Hoffman said. "Most of these folks have never worked with aircraft. They have done a tremendous job rising to the challenge. These are the people that make the A-10 fly."
Syracuse resident Gary Lucero has worked on aircraft at Hill with the 571st for more than seven years.
"First, when you see a completed project, that obviously is very satisfying," he said. "But I think the biggest thing is knowing that the guys who are actually out there defending our country are using these very planes that we work on every day."
Lucero said knowing who flies the planes he works on and why they fly them drives him to do his best.
"Yeah, there is some pressure, but I think that's good," he said.
"It forces you to do your best, because you know there's a lot riding on your performance. We aren't working on Pintos here. Pilots can't pull over on a cloud and pop the hood when something goes wrong."
Co-worker Winter Martinez said she applied for three years before landing a job upgrading A-10s.
"This is my dream job. I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing."
Civilians in the 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron work on F-16s, stripping old systems from the planes, building new electrical systems, and adding new and improved parts.
Layton resident Diane Boston has worked with the 573rd for six years and makes modifications to two or three F-16s every week. She said there is little room for mistakes when working with such important equipment.
"With us, it's all about quality. And we remind people who don't know. I think everyone here realizes they have to be on their game at all times."
Mike Rowe, also a 573rd employee, has lived in Davis County his entire life and has devoted 26 years to working as a mechanic at Hill.
"We have to keep the planes flying to support the Air Force," the Sunset resident said. "We don't take that lightly."
Rowe reports to work every day by 5:30 a.m. He said he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
"Some people call me crazy, but I really do love my job. And I think the main reason I love it is because I know I am part of something that is much bigger than myself."
Hoffman agrees.
"We have unbelievable people working here. That's the bottom line," he said.
"Without these people, we don't have an Air Force."
HAFB civilian work force at Hill Air Force Base:
* Is the largest single-site employer in Utah.
* Retains a civilian employee population of about 20,000, which makes up more than 90 percent of its total work force.
* Boasts the largest civilian employee population in the Air Force.
* Has always employed a large number of civilians. During World War II, the base's civilian workforce was more than 15,000.
* Employs nearly 1,000 civilian engineers and scientists.
* Pumps more than $1 billion directly into Utah's economy every year.
* Maintains an annual civilian payroll of more than $1 billion.
* Civilians earn almost double the state average.
Source: Hill Air Force Base
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