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# Civil engineers make critical runway repairs, keep missions moving

By Tech. Sgt. Jonathan Hehnly386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

                SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS)  –              Maintaining an airfield is never an easy task, especially when it’s one of the busiest in the U.S. Air Forces Central Command area of responsibility. Responsible for making critical runway repairs, the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron’s heavy equipment operator team ensures the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing’s airfield is operational and ready for all takeoffs and landings in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.  Ensuring the entire airfield is a safe environment and free of hazards to aircraft is an essential function to maintaining the ability for the Air Force to deliver quick and decisive airpower downrange in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.  “Every effort must be made to minimize the risk of pavement damage leading to aircraft damage,” said Capt. Steven Young, 386th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron airfield operations flight commander. “Failure to properly maintain these pavements could result in significant impact to our operations. If aircraft do not have a safe runway from which to take-off and land, where would we be as an effective weapon system?” With the 386th AEW’s airfield being a major hub for C-130 Hercules and C-17 Golbemaster III aircraft, the runways take a beating. Inspections of the airfield pavements are conducted regularly to rate the surface condition of each section. “It is important to monitor and track the surface condition of pavements to identify pavement problems early and plan appropriate repairs,” said Lt. Col. Kenneth Joseph, 386th ECES operations flight commander. “Our continual evaluation program also helps determine the most cost-effective maintenance and repair actions.” Airfield operations works closely with the 386th ECES to identify runway deficiencies and facilitate repairs in a way that least impacts flight schedules and aircraft operations.  “The mission is always on the move, both on operations side and civil engineering,” said Young. “We work closely together to make sure (386th) ECES has the materials and time to access the runway and fix these issues within short timeframes.” The heavy equipment operator team works quickly in the extreme desert climate to perform all required spall repairs to the airfield and limit their effect on the flying schedules.  “Occasionally, an aircraft requires access to a portion of the runway that is closed for repair,” said Young. “In that case we ensure all obstacles are out of the way and all pavements that aircraft will travel over are in good condition.  As soon as the aircraft is off the closed portion, the repair team swiftly forges onward.”  For the month of August alone, the heavy equipment operator team’s ability to keep the airfield operational made it possible for the 386th AEW’s aircraft to successfully fly more than 4,100 hours, said Joseph. *Editor's note: The original story can be viewed on the Air Force website.*

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386 AEW386 ECESRunway Repairpavementsurface conditionGlobemaster IIIC-17HerculesC-130386th EOSS386th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron386th AEW386th Air Expeditionary Wing386th ECES386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer SquadronAFCENTUSAFrepairconstrucitonequipmentconstruction and equipment