Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel    
    
        Special Victims Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Virginia Guard Avionics Team Tackles High-flying Challenges By Sgt. 1st Class Terra C. Gatti,
                Virginia National Guard Public Affairs Office
 RICHMOND, Va. - Tucked behind a blue door at the Virginia Army National Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility is the organization’s avionics section, where a small group of full-time Soldiers work to troubleshoot, diagnose and repair avionic components and wiring on a fleet of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
 
“It’s not black and white; you’ve got to think outside of the box,” said Staff Sgt. Kevin Guerrero, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the section. The challenging nature of the job is exactly why Guerrero and his Soldiers like it.
 
“Even the same problem, a lot of the time, won’t have the same fix,” said Sgt. Kyle Manes, who has worked at the AASF since 2018. He and the other technicians agreed that each helicopter has its own quirks, including one aircraft that was once struck by lightning and frequently presented “weird problems.”
 
“Another one, the moment you turned on the power, the blades would dance,” Guerrero said. In flight, the dancing blades would cause the aircraft to “porpoise” or bounce like a dolphin. The problem baffled the team and required extensive troubleshooting. “We took out nearly every component of that aircraft, playing around and moving wire bundles and we luckily found it. It was wiring that was chafed and was grounding itself out intermittently.”
 
Spc. George Scott, who joined the National Guard in 2017 and has worked at the AASF since 2021, said he likes the challenges of working there.
 
“We get to do a lot of cool, really neat things that are just not available to civilians,” Scott said. “It really falls on the individual techs to look at a situation and assess it and think about the most effective way to solve the problem.”
 
The newest member of the full-time avionics team is Spc. Leonel Aviles-Mejia. He joined the Virginia Army National Guard in 2022. He wants to go to flight school to pilot the aircraft he’s helping to maintain. In the meantime, he’s thankful for the opportunity to learn and work at the AASF.
 
“What really shocked me when I got this job, being 19, was making a significant amount of money at a very young age and not having to go to college,” Aviles-Mejia said, adding that, even if his job doesn’t require it, college is still part of his plan. “I wanted something that can help me progress in my career and I always want to learn new things, so I’m grateful that I got this job.”
 
Most of the Soldiers at the AASF are dual-status military technicians. That means their jobs at the facility are contingent upon their service in the Virginia National Guard, and that those jobs are only available to those serving in the National Guard.
 
“Overall the technician program is a good opportunity for the people seeking specific skills in a trade that isn’t universal to the civilian side,” Guerrero said. “It’s very unique and it’s really cool that we’re electricians on Black Hawks.”
 
The need for a full-time crew at the AASF stems from the maintenance requirements of the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Routine maintenance and inspections are conducted on the aircraft in prescribed intervals. National Guard pilots are required to fly the same number of hours as their active duty counterparts, which means the aircraft in the Virginia National Guard’s rotary wing fleet are lifting off nearly every day of the week, generating a need for a qualified and experienced fleet of technicians to maintain them.
 
“It’s a very challenging environment and you get to interact with so many different factors and faults on the aircraft,” Scott said. “It keeps you very intellectually engaged.”
 
The challenging nature of the work, the small size of the team, and the importance of the job have forged strong bonds within the section.
 
“You have to have really close relationships with the people you work with here because there’s a lot of trust involved,” Scott said. “I really enjoy the family feeling of it and there’s opportunities to be really close with your supervisor and close with the people you work with.”
 SHARE
 PRINT
  Virginia National Guard
 Black Hawk
 
 29th Infantry Division HQ Heads Exercise Immediate Response
 By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy,
  Marines repair Harrier jet engine at Virginia Guard facility
 By Sgt. 1st Class Terra C. Gatti
  Army helo school tests aircrews high on jagged mountains
 By Sean Kimmons
  More
 Idaho, Nevada Guard Offer Free Health Care to Tribal Members Guard News • 38 minutes ago
 Illinois Guard Completes Emergency Response Training Guard News • 6 hours ago
 National Guard Ready for Potential Record-Breaking Wildfire, Hurricane Season Guard News • 2 days ago
 Washington Army Guard, Partners Train on Air Rescues Guard News • 3 days ago
 New Hampshire Guard Medevacs Injured Hiker to Safety Guard News • 5 days ago
 2024 (167)  2023 (427)  2022 (526)  2021 (697)  2020 (936)  2019 (387)  2018 (323)  2017 (346)  2016 (245)  2015 (356)  2014 (399)  2013 (469)  2012 (556)  2011 (533)  2010 (1071)  2009 (357)  2008 (638)  2007 (295)  2006 (188)
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil