News

Australian airmen train on C1-7

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jennifer Gerhardt
  • 446th Airlift Wing
A Reservist with the 446th Maintenance Squadron went "down under" February through March to instruct Australia's newest C-17 maintainers on how to keep their new jet flying high. 

Tech. Sgt. Jesse Strowbridge led a team of nine maintainers from around the Air Force to Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberly, Australia to train the Aussies' newest C-17 maintainers on the airplane's home station check, otherwise known as the 120-day inspection. 

"The hardest thing was to temporarily learn and remember all of their maintenance regulations. We often found out a lot of their regulations after the fact," said Sergeant Strowbridge. "But the best thing about training the Australians was being a part of the coalition building process with one of our closest allies." 

As a Reservist, Sergeant Strowbridge was part of the coalition building because of his well-regarded skills. 

"Sergeant Strowbridge has tremendous knowledge of the entire HSC process," said Senior Master Sgt. Travis Pritchett, HSC section superintendent for the 446th MXS. "He's not only extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the C-17 aircraft, but he is well versed in process improvement procedures, dock controlling, inspection criteria, and training on all aspects of the HSC process." 

The Australians are receiving four C-17s to replace some of their aging C-130s. Because the Aussie unit was so new to the C-17, there were only 26 maintainers qualified to work on them. 

"We weren't there to teach them how to work on the plane, but more to teach them the process of the home check inspections, give them pointers, and also assist in setting up future C-17 HSC operations," said Sergeant Strowbridge. 

One obstacle all of the maintainers experienced was time. They could only work during daylight hours because there was no artificial light on the airfield, making the process take more than two weeks. In contrast, at McChord, the inspection turnaround time is usually a few days. 

Lack of artificial lighting wasn't the only thing the U.S. Air Force maintainers had to get used to. There were also different opinions about safety and work methods. 

"I think the hardest part about working with [the Aussies] was that they did not have all the equipment needed for the tasks at hand," said Staff Sgt. Troy Wilson, 62nd Maintenance Squadron, who also went on the trip. "They didn't have adequate maintenance stands and most tools, but we made due with what they had and got the job done. They wanted to do everything themselves and we were there just to answer questions and give advice on the HSC process. Overall, it was a very unique experience." 

Another difference was the approach to controlling foreign debris on the flightline. The Australians would walk the flightline and runway each morning to eliminate FOD, but leave their tools on the aircraft when they went to lunch. By contrast, the McChord maintainers conduct bi-weekly FOD walks and don't leave any tools unsecured. 

In addition to sending McChord Airmen to Australia, members of the Royal Australian Air Force are at McChord learning about C-17 avionics in a formal class setting. 

In the U.S. Air Force, Airmen in six different specialties are required to maintain the C-17. However, the Australians only have two: mechanics and avionics. Because of this difference, McChord's instructors had to design special lessons tailored to the Australian specialties. Currently, there are 15 Australian Airmen attending the C-17A Avionics Maintenance Course and 13 attending the C-17A Mechanics Maintenance Course. 

Australia received its first C-17 in December 2006 and their second arrives in May. A total of four C-17 are scheduled for delivery to the RAAF by 2008. 

(Staff Sgt. Paul Haley, 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs, contributed to this report.)