Air Force News, news from Iraq - Air Force Times

New moves for maintenance

Beginning in July, the Air Force will undergo a massive reorganization, and tens of thousands of airmen will move to new squadrons, answer to new commanders and, if they’re officers and senior enlisted airmen, take on new responsibilities.

Crew chiefs, flightline maintainers and weapons loaders for fighter, bomber and combat search-and-rescue wings will move from maintenance squadrons to operations squadrons, coming under the command of pilots.

Their maintenance groups will be dissolved, and a new organization — materiel groups — will absorb thousands more airmen.

Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley approved the move to the “Global Wing Structure” on May 12 after months of discussions between the Air Staff and major commands. It reverses many of the changes implemented in the last huge restructuring, in 2002, when crew chiefs and maintainers moved out of flying squadrons and into maintenance groups so maintainers could worry about keeping planes in the sky and flying squadron commanders could focus on training and missions.

All active-duty and Reserve wings must have these changes in place by Nov. 30:

* Each aircraft maintenance unit, or AMU, partnered with a fighter, bomber or CSAR squadron moves into the operational squadron, leaving the maintenance group behind.

* AMUs associated with other types of aircraft also shift to flying squadrons if most of the base’s AMUs are realigning under the same major command. For example, all of Pacific Air Force’s flying squadrons at Kadena Air Base, Japan, reorganize, even the KC-135 tanker squadron.

* Maintenance groups give way to materiel groups, which will include backshop maintenance units and those who perform phase inspections.

* Aerial port squadrons — the units that move cargo and people on and off airplanes — and logistics readiness squadrons — the units that handle supply and ground transportation — shift from mission support groups to materiel groups if the wing has a materiel group.

* All overseas air expeditionary wings, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan, reshape into the new structure.

Individual wings are deciding when they’ll make the transition. The 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., aims to make the changes this summer before its F-16s deploy in September. The 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is waiting until October, after airmen return from the Middle East.

There are notable exceptions to the changes.

Maintainers assigned to Air Mobility Command and Air Force Special Operations Command don’t become part of flying squadrons — yet. The idea is being studied, and Moseley has said he favors the move unless he can be shown it’s not a good idea.

The Air National Guard will experiment by shifting operations at five yet-to-be-announced bases. If the reorganization works well there, other Guard wings will make the transition.

When AMC and Guard units deploy to support Afghanistan and Iraq operations, they become part of air expeditionary wings and their maintainers will temporarily come under the command of the flying squadrons. Moseley said he expects the AMC and Guard units to adapt because he wants identical chains of command for each expeditionary wing.

Commanders are aware that some long-time airmen see this change as a return to the so-called “objective wings” of the 1990s, the last time maintainers were organized under flying squadrons. But there are significant differences, said Maj. Gen. Robert McMahon, director of maintenance at the Air Staff and a career maintenance officer.

In the old structure, flying squadrons owned flight-line maintenance, but the flying squadron commanders weren’t held responsible for aircraft readiness. He said that was like allowing flying squadron and operations group commanders to write checks without having to balance the checkbook at the end of the month.

Under the new plan, the flying squadron commander and the operations group commander must meet both operational and maintenance requirements.

Maj. Gen. Marke Gibson, a pilot on the Air Staff who has led operations groups with and without maintainers, said that for the new structure to succeed, commanders must learn to balance the training needs of the day with the long-term readiness of a squadron’s aircraft.

“The operators are going to have to know those days they need to throttle back and give maintenance the opportunity to get the fleet back up to speed,” Gibson said.

For enlisted airmen, the changes mean they get to sew on flying squadron patches — if they are still wearing the old uniform.

This “is a big deal,” said Senior Master Sgt. Dennis Mummery, a B-52 production superintendent assigned to the Air Force Reserve’s 917th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

Mummery recalled that when he deployed as a member of Barksdale’s 93rd Bomb Squadron, he took pride in being identified as a member of a B-52 unit.

“I’m excited,” said Tech. Sgt. Vincent Detore, an F-16 crew chief assigned to the 388th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Hill Air Force Base. “I’m keeping my uniform until 2011,” the 14-year maintainer said, alluding to the deadline for all airmen to wear the Airman Battle Uniform, on which unit patches are not allowed.

Airmen who have served in flying squadrons before, such as Detore, are getting quizzed by fellow enlisted maintainers on what to expect. He tells them coordination between maintainers should become easier when everyone is in the same squadron. “The line of communications is a little more streamlined.”

Day-to-day duties for most airmen moving to a new squadron or group shouldn’t change, said Chief Master Sgt. John Davis, the senior noncommissioned officer in the 33rd Fighter Wing’s maintenance operations squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. He said the aircraft maintenance units will move mostly intact into the flying squadrons they already support.

Squadron leadership

But there are big changes coming to squadron leadership.

A typical fighter squadron is home to about 35 pilots and a dozen or so enlisted airmen, who handle life-support equipment and administrative duties. An aircraft maintenance unit has upwards of 250 airmen, mostly enlisted. The two groups have to merge.

Overnight, a flying squadron commander who didn’t worry much about enlisted personnel issues will find himself responsible for hundreds of airmen and the maintenance of his squadron’s aircraft.

Among the administrative challenges is setting up commanders’ support staffs, including the task of finding first sergeants to fill the dozens of new positions opening up. While some AMUs will transfer with a first shirt, many of the units won’t have a full-time first sergeant to make the move.

The squadron boss will have a full-time assistant focused on maintenance — a senior major. He’ll focus on the squadron’s long-term aircraft maintenance needs. Under the major will be a captain supervising day-to-day maintenance operations.

At the operations group level, a maintenance lieutenant colonel will work as the deputy commander for maintenance, coordinating work with the deputy commander for operations.

The commander of the materiel group will handle supply-chain issues and backshop maintenance work, such as lengthy phase inspections of aircraft.

The new wing organization also changes leadership in materiel groups — formerly the maintenance groups. They will encompass several officer career fields — maintenance, munitions and logistics readiness — and those officers will compete for group leadership positions.

While commanders of the maintenance groups will likely become the first commanders of materiel groups, the commander’s post will be open to officers from backgrounds other than maintenance. “I would expect to see a healthy mix,” McMahon said.

To spin up squadron and group leaders on their expanding duties, the Air Force will hold two-day courses at bases using a curriculum developed by the Weapons School and Advanced Maintenance and Munitions Officer School, McMahon said. Within a year, Air Education and Training Command will stand up orientation courses.

Lt. Col. David Nahom, a former F-15 squadron commander, understands how much career aviators have to learn about maintenance. Nahom, now assigned as deputy commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing’s maintenance group at Eglin, estimated he’ll need six months in the post to soak up the knowledge a deputy needs. “It’s been a one-way education,” Nahom said.

That’s exactly the kind of on-the-job training that pilots should be exposed to, according to Air Force leaders.

One of the criticisms of putting aircrews and maintainers into separate maintenance groups is that rated officers weren’t likely to get involved in maintenance or enlisted issues until they reached colonel and became wing commanders. Now rated officers will deal with maintenance and enlisted concerns as lieutenant colonels or majors.

“They will be better tested and experienced in leadership of all ranks,” the Air Staff’s Gibson said.

And that will benefit everyone.