News

Reserve maintainers put expert hands on deck in Spain

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nicole Celestine
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  A group of 16 maintainers from the 446th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron here returned Feb. 6 from a two-week assignment to Naval Station Rota, Spain.

The Reservists lent their skills and experience to the 725th Air Mobility Squadron, helping the unit fill manning requirements, inspect, refuel and generally handle almost 30 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft that made stopovers on the naval station since Jan. 23.

The 446th AMXS team, led by Senior Master Sgt. Marvin "Martie" Hitt, joined forces with a 16-member maintainer group from the 105th Airlift Wing, Stewart International Airport, N.Y., to supplement the 725th AMS while their members were deployed.

An aircraft and power plant mechanic with Alaska Airlines since 1998, Sergeant Hitt said the assignment gave qualified and trained Reservists who are at the required skill level, a chance to flex their technical muscles in a real-world scenario.

"This assignment gave the 446th AW and McChord Field a chance to shine," said Sergeant Hitt. "It gave members, who work in the shop on a daily basis, the opportunity to apply their skills in a pressure-oriented environment."

Tech. Sgt. Robin Smith, 446th AMXS Silver scheduler, said the assignment allowed him and other fully-qualified maintainers to take care of their teams, the aircraft and perform their jobs independently.

"This was an actual training scenario away from McChord Field," said Sergeant Smith, a functional test team lead at The Boeing Company. "We went whenever something happened and we trained one another. There was great teamwork and we were pleased to take care of things."

Sergeant Hitt, the Blue AMU assistant superintendent, said the team supported 28 missions, transporting 199 passengers and more than 1 million pounds of cargo. With individuals appointed to leadership positions as team chiefs, he said the team reduced delay discrepancies to zero and completed five "Red Ball Alerts," a time-sensitive aircraft maintenance procedure.

Sergeant Hitt said Reservists made significant impact on their own merit to the 725th AMS. For example, Tech. Sgt. Erik Matteson completed 33 service inspections, two phase inspections, and one acceptance inspection, all within three days. In addition, Staff Sgt. Deidre Barry volunteered to be on-call during her scheduled days off, enabling her active-duty counterpart to have time off.

Both sergeants emphasized the support they got from the 725th AMS and welcome the opportunity to help again in the future.

Naval Station Rota, Spain is located near the Strait of Gibraltar, at the halfway point between the U. S. and Southwest Asia. It provides support for U.S. and NATO ships and supports the safe and efficient movement of U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force flights, passengers and cargo. Naval Station Rota and its tenant commands supply fuel, oil, ammunition and spare parts to units in the region.