News

They worry so you don't have to

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jacob Morgan
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  In the flying world the pilots are often seen as the golden boys and girls. However, the work done on the ground pre-and-post flight is a crucial part of the mission and is sometimes forgotten. The members of the 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron oversee the wellbeing of all C-5B Galaxy's and C-5M Super Galaxy's at Dover Air Force Base, Del., and make sure the planes are available to deliver vital supplies to the world.

The mission of maintaining C-5's at Dover AFB is a gritty and time consuming process. Twelve-hour days and hard work is common for crew chiefs and systems specialists in the squadron.

"Sometimes we can get a little beat down," said Staff Sgt. Rob Sheppard, 436 AMXS flying crew chief. "At the end of the day, the job is rewarding and gives us all a great sense of pride."

Each time a C-5 is being prepared for a mission, 436 AMXS crew chiefs put the plane through a rigorous pre-flight inspection, noticing even the smallest errors in performance or functionality. If the problem is structural, or an extensive technical operation is needed, the crew chiefs will call upon their specialist counterparts. Some of these jobs include anything from hydraulics to avionics.

When a C-5 lands, the same operation is repeated, only with added steps for a post-flight inspection. The responsibility of noticing problems sometimes falls on these post-flight inspections. Finding these problems could mean the difference between a successful flight or an in-flight-emergency on the next flight.

Added to the responsibility of the 436 AMXS maintainers is the evolving C-5 plane. The C-5 has changed many systems in its long life from the A model to the M model, which means more qualifications for maintainers.

Sergeant Sheppard has been as Dover AFB for more than nine years and has seen the changes first-hand.

"I like having been here for so long," said Sergeant Sheppard. "I have seen the evolution of the C-5; it keeps us on our toes."

The 436 AMXS encompasses many different career fields in an entangled web of cooperation. Without the long days and gritty work of the maintainers, Dover AFB's mission to deliver would be impossible.