JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- With Exercise Mobility Guardian in its second week, the 446th Airlift “Rainier” Wing has taken full advantage of the opportunities to learn and stretch their abilities.
One such moment occurred when a McChord Field C-17 Globemaster III, participating in Mobility Guardian, landed at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., Aug. 8, and encountered an engine problem.
“I got a call from a C-17 aircrew at Fairchild that had a problem with one of the engine thrust reversers,” said Tech. Sgt. Travis Elmore, 446th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron jet engine mechanic. “After speaking with the crew I was able to diagnose the problem over the phone. After some coordination with maintenance at Fairchild, the aircraft was made safe to fly, so it could return to Join Base Lewis-McChord.”
Once the C-17 was back at McChord, active duty and Rainier Wing aircraft maintainers began to fix the faulty thrust reverser in order to bring the airplane back to being fully mission capable for the exercise.
Maintenance crews worked overnight to replace the thrust reverser control valve, said Elmore. Day shift finished the job by reinstalling the access panels and performing an operational check of the replaced part.
During Exercise Mobility Guardian, 10 reservists assigned to the 446th AMXS integrated into the C-17 maintenance team, working side-by-side with active duty personnel.
“An exercise like this shows just how vital we are as reservists,” said Chief Master Sgt. Mark Cherrix, 446th AMXS aircraft maintenance unit chief. “You can’t do an exercise like this without the support of the guard and reserve. It all goes back to that total force concept.”
More than 650 international military personnel and 3,000 U.S. military service members have partnered together to test the abilities of Mobility Air Forces to execute rapid global mobility missions in airlift, air refueling, aeromedical evacuation and mobility support.
“I think Exercise Mobility Guardian has been a good experience for everyone,” said Cherrix. “Not everyone gets a chance to deploy these days. Mobility Guardian is a great way for Airmen to experience a deployed environment and get some exposure to a high ops tempo right in our own back yard. Mobility Guardian has been great at getting us ready for the next conflict or humanitarian crisis.”