Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

AGE has it covered

Master Sgt. Jeffrey Davis performs a servicing inspection on a C-10 Air Conditioner. All equipment handled by the AGE technicians is required to be inspected at certain intervals. Photo by Melanie Salazar.

Melanie Salazar

27TH FIGHTER WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

"Quality connection, AGE anytime anywhere," reads a sign in the aerospace ground equipment -LESS-THAN-0054375-AGE-GREATER-THAN-0054375- maintenance shop.

AGE provides on-demand, reliable equipment to Cannon's aircraft. Though, as reflected in the sign, their knowledge doesn't stop at the gates.

"Anywhere an aircraft can land, the aircraft is going to need AGE support," said Master Sgt. Jeffrey Davis, 27th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, who has worked in the same field for all of his 19 years in the Air Force.

"That's the great thing about this career field. Types of equipment vary, but the fundamentals are the same," he said.

"You're basically a jack of all trades. That enables us to go virtually anywhere that an aircraft needs support."

The men and women in AGE are the individuals that many people notice driving aircraft equipment to and from the flight line.

But their responsibilities don't end there, said Sgt. Davis.

AGE troops deliver, pick-up, maintain and operate all of the ground equipment used to keep Cannon's aircraft flying.

This is a fact that could be easily overlooked by one who may not know about AGE."There's a fallacy that AGE only drives the equipment," Sgt. Davis said. "What most people don't realize is that the individual picking up and dropping off the equipment is the same one who's tearing apart the engine or the heating system."

Performing about 40 equipment inspections every week, Cannon's AGE teams of shop mechanics get their hands dirty doing scheduled maintenance and answering the unforeseen maintenance needs of aircraft, leaving it up to the mechanics to find the problem.

"Many folks thrive on the unscheduled maintenance checks because it checks their capability as mechanics," Sgt. Davis said.

The biggest driving force behind the success of the AGE technicians is the teamwork its Airmen produce, Sgt. Davis said.

The Phase I exercise held earlier this month was a true test of this, as the flight's responsibilities mounted during the exercise.

"The challenge for us is we have ongoing flying operations to support on a day to day basis," Sgt. Davis said.

"During the phase, we had to pull 111 pieces of equipment off the flight line, support day to day operations and prepare to deploy. Anytime you have to do that, teamwork is critical. We eat, live and breathe it."

Sgt. Davis said the strong, direct communication, both internal and external, strengthens the capability of the flight line to meet the flying hour contract. "A face to face takes two or three minutes instead of asking 'did you get my e-mail?"

Staff Sgt. Lou A. Zapata, 522 AGE team floor supervisor, tries to continue that trend amongst his team.

"The best part of my job is getting to train younger Airmen," he said. "If you take the time to show them properly, [the job] will get done right and [you will] have a better product."

Sgt. Zapata said he tries to teach young Airmen not be scared of the job or equipment. "You can't be afraid of troubleshooting a unit just because you don't know it."

As demonstrated by their performance during the phase, Sgt. Davis said the individuals in the shop are irreplaceable.

Whether it's fixing a heater in the dead of winter or repairing the engine of an external aircraft power source, AGE is taking care of it. If it hooks up to the aircraft from the ground, AGE has it covered.

"They're not in it for glory, but they're very dedicated and hard-working men and women," he said. But for them, the real reward is in the job. "When you see a plane leave to do what it needs to do, that's the best part," said Staff Sgt. Alfredo Ortiz, 27th EMS.

"You know you were part of that whole process."