KC-135 crew chiefs dedicated to nonstop mission

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Justine Rho
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  As the temperature drops and the sideways rain worsens night time visibility, 100th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chiefs zip up their rain gear and head out to the flight line.

Airmen 1st Class Ethan Jones and Erroll James Ponio, both 100th AMXS KC-135 Stratotanker crew chiefs, are dedicated to the maintenance of an aircraft with a 24/7 global reach mission. In respect to the continuous mission, crew chiefs must adjust to the demands of night shift on the flight line.

Ponio has been working swing shift for about eight months, and explained how his duty hours are called the "work horse" of all shifts.

"During swing shift, from 3 to 11 p.m., we often pick up turnover aircraft that haven't completed inspection during the previous shift and the majority of pre-flight inspections are done during these hours," said Ponio. "Anything that isn't finished will be turnover for mid-shift."

Jones described KC-135 crew chiefs as the jack of all trades.

"Crew chiefs have the most general knowledge of the aircraft," said Jones, who has been on swing shift for about a year. "We are trained to identify discrepancies and by following our technical orders we are able to service the jet then and there. There are step-by-step orders for each duty, which includes catching, parking, inspecting, refueling and launching the jet."

"My expectations are the same for each of my Airmen no matter what shift they work," said Senior Master Sgt. Jason McKee, 100th AMXS Aircraft Maintenance Unit superintendent. "Every shift is similar in having a very high operation tempo, but each shift has their own challenges."

McKee continued by describing some of the biggest challenges Airmen face with adjusting to mid-shift or swing shift.

"It can be difficult maintaining eating and sleeping schedules throughout the weekend, so the body stays on that same sleep pattern," he said. "Another challenge is time management, such as scheduling errands or appointments during hours you might want to be sleeping. Time management also includes setting aside family time for Airmen that are married and have children who are in school."

Being single Airmen, both Jones and Ponio agreed that they prefer the swing shift schedule because they feel they have ample time to meet appointments, sleep in, study, go to the gym or run errands.

In addition to the preferred duty hours, the crew chiefs said the variety of tasks performed during swing or mid-shift push them to become more proficient in their career field.

"More so than swing and any other shift, day shift launches jets and that's a majority of their day," said Jones. "Swing and mid-shift are often faced with additional tasks and unpredictable servicing to the jet. I feel like this is where I get the best-rounded experience for my job."

Jones' fellow crew chief agreed and described what makes the long hours and hard work worth it.

"We often work longer than the scheduled eight hours and it can be tiring," said Ponio. "But, seeing the jet fly and complete its mission is very rewarding. Sometimes we fly with the aircraft and seeing the in-flight refueling mission underlines the importance of our job. You know that you are part of the team making that mission happen."

The 100th AMXS AMU superintendent had nothing but praise for his Airmen's hard work.

"They are the ones who are out there in the rain, the cold, or the heat, working long hours on all shifts," said McKee. "Our mission does not stop for holidays or the weekends and my Airmen are here every day to get the mission done."