Senior Airman Randy Kephart, 332nd Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance HH-60 crew chief, examines the rear rotary of an HH-60 helicopter for discrepancies May 3. The Eldridge, Iowa, native is deployed from Nellis Air Force base, Nev. Photo by Staff Sgt. Corenthia Fennell
05.08.2011 Story by Senior Airman Tong Duong JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - The helicopter is the aircraft of choice for a certain community in the Air Force, as it could hover over places where fixed-wing aircraft cannot go.
Maintainers of the 64th Expeditionary Helicopter Maintenance Unit are the go-to-guys for keeping the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters here aloft.
"We conduct maintenance on these helicopters to provide safe and reliable aircraft for the 64th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, to ensure mission success for their combat search and rescue operations," said Capt. Kyle Singer, 64th EHMU officer in charge.
Singer, who is deployed from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., said his airmen are magicians when it comes to helicopter maintenance.
"They have been doing this for a long time and know the systems well," the native of Olney, Md., said. "There is nothing they can't fix. Some problems are harder to find than others, but they will find it."
Senior Airman Randy Kephart, 332nd Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance HH-60 crew chief, checks the fuel management package during a routine inspection May 3. Kephart is deployed from Nellis Air Force base, Nev., and is a native of Eldridge, Iowa. Photo by Staff Sgt. Corenthia Fennell
Senior Airman Brian Cummings, 64th EHMU communication, navigation and mission systems journeyman, maintains 33 different systems on Pave Hawk helicopters. He repairs radios, navigation equipments, global positioning satellite systems and laptops.
The native of Boston, said he takes pride in his work because it allows the pilots to concentrate on their mission.
Cummings, who is deployed from Nellis AFB, Nev., said all helicopter maintainers are well versed on the aircraft, so they can help out whenever they're needed.
"I'm trained on [communication and navigation] but have knowledge of theory on how it all comes together," he said. "So, if there's an instrument or flight control issue on one of the helicopters, I can pitch in and help."
As the Air Force's only helicopter maintenance unit here, these maintainers often resort to creative means (within regulations) to keep their aircraft mission ready. The depot facility for the 160th Army Special Forces and Catfish Air was where the maintainers sourced 60 percent of their parts, until recently.
"With the 160th gone, it puts a crunch on our supply system," Singer said. "If we don't have a part we need, we will find a way around it. The mission will happen, guaranteed."
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