Trading places: Maintenance crews swap out

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Zachary Cacicia
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Team Dover's C-5M Super Galaxy fleet's temporary stay at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, has reached its halfway point, and its contingent of maintainers and other support Airmen will now trade places with a fresh batch of Airmen from Dover AFB.

Since February 2015, Dover AFB's north-south Runway 01-19 has been closed to undergo a complete $98.3 million renovation. In February 2016, the construction project reached a stage in which the intersection of both runways required work. This phase of construction has temporarily cut the length of Runway 14-32 from 12,900 feet to 6,000 feet, altering its operational capabilities for the C-5. For this reason, it was decided to temporarily move the C-5 fleet in order for them to ensure the continued success of the Air Force's global mobility mission.

It is anticipated that the C-5s will operate out of JB MDL until this upcoming August, when runway construction is projected for completion. Because of this lengthy stay, it was necessary to move a contingent of roughly 150 C-5 maintainers and other support Airmen, plus their equipment. But now that the halfway point has been reached, it was decided to give those Airmen a break by swapping them out with roughly 150 fresh maintainers from Team Dover.

"Those Airmen up there have been working really hard," said Master Sgt. Phillip Addy, 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron section chief. "We are going to rotate them out, give them a break with some R[est] and R[elaxation] time; let them reconstitute. And we will now send the second crew up to replace them."

JB MDL's Power in the Pines Open House and Air Show which took place from May 14-15, was used to mark the halfway point. It was seen as ideal because it allowed JB MDL's billeting to free up rooms for the air show, all on top of freeing up a lot of space for the countless aircraft and support equipment brought in.

"We will continue to make the mission happen," said Addy. "We will continue to meet and exceed Air Mobility Command standards. I think it will be a seamless transition."