En Route Maintenance supports Ramstein

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Kimberly Lalley
  • 514 Air Mobility Wing public affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE DIX LAKEHURST --  
      Seventeen maintainers recently completed their annual training at Ramstein Air Base, Germany working on C-17 airframes and standing up a records program. 
      The last two weeks of March, maintainers from the 514th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and 714th Maintenance Squadron provided support and training for their active-duty counterparts as part of Air Mobility Command's En Route Maintenance concept.  For the concept, a transient team is tasked to train maintainers on different airframes.  During the two weeks in Germany the team focused on C-17 aircraft. 
      Each year maintainers travel to bases, located in Germany, Spain and Turkey, for their annual training. There's a Pacific schedule too, supporting bases in Guam, Hawaii, Japan and Alaska.  Bases buy time in blocks for en route missions, build their leave and plan their training around the annual training requirement. According to Master Sgt. Michael Manfredi, AMC bases can build their needs around the schedule.
      "We can train their maintainers and sign off on their Training Business Area. It's an added incentive to complete the required career development courses, since only 5-levels and above can participate," Manfredi said. "It's a total force initiative of active-duty, Reserve and Air National Guard working seamlessly."   
      Manfredi went on to say, because of their involvement in the program, the maintenance crews get a lot of respect. 
      "We take a lot of their deployments and our squadrons work with the active duty unit deployment managers," he said.
      The en routes are a great deal for the Freedom Wing since AMC provides the Military Personnel Appropriation days and airline tickets when there is no organic airlift provided.  KC-10 crews from the 76th and 78th Air Refueling Squadrons flew the maintainers to Ramstein on a Friday night, rested and returned the next day. Two weeks later they repeated the flight to bring them home.  This time everyone got to experience daylight savings time again.  Europe springs forward the last Sunday in March, so the final night was shortened by an hour.
      This was Master Sgt. Alexandra Lepore's, 514th MXS,  third en route to Europe in 30 years.  She assisted the 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing, RAB, and set up four file plans. She said, if she hadn't been there to dedicate her time to the four plans, they probably wouldn't have gotten done.  She's spent her last three years as an air reserve technician and says she loves working with maintenance. 
      As the single mother of four kids, Lepore said she appreciated the solitude, but admitted the first few days were stressful, as she didn't want to get lost in a foreign country.  She read three books while she was there and could see one of the town's two castles from her hotel window.  She worked a different shift at the wing and was able to take advantage of USO Tours on weekends off and saw many castles, took a Rhein River cruise and toured the medieval city of Rothenberg.  She said her kids were happy with the chocolates she brought back.
      Lepore admits, when she first heard about this annual training, it was stressful.  Her first wish was to complete her annual training at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, but Col. Michael Underkofler, 514th Air Mobility Wing commander, encourages ARTs to travel when possible.  In hindsight, Lepore said she's glad she got to go, had a great experience and had fun exploring another culture and country. 
      Staff Sgt. Stephen Avery has been an ART for five years.  He began working with KC-10s in 2004 and then C-17s.  He's dual qualified in both airframes and his last temporary duty assignment was in 2009 to the Pacific.  He said he "feels energized to do his job after this annual tour."
      En route maintenance offers a TDY opportunity to stay off-base and experience something different.  Staff Sgt. Raymond Hillsberry, 514th MXS, said it was a great training opportunity.  Working together for the two weeks of tour strengthened the already strong bond within the squadrons.  They had continuity with a 12-hour shift and could travel together and get to know each other.  For traditional reservists there may not be as much work on a Reserve weekend but they have two weeks to focus on an airframe and work in areas they may not see as a TR back home.
      Maintainers brought back memories and souvenirs including cuckoo clocks, chocolates and German beer.  As they waited to board their flight home they shared stories of the training, camaraderie, and the six countries they visited including Germany, Netherland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland.