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 Maintenance: 'Heartbeat' of JTF Sentinel's flying mission By Capt. Al Bosco
                California National Guard
 MATHER AIR FIELD, Calif. - For nearly a month, aircraft from the California National Guard and 14 other states have continuously battled the fires raging in different parts of the state with great success, a testament to the dedication and joint effort by the Guard, as well as partner agencies. But there's one organization that made the effort possible, maintenance. Tasked with ensuring mission-capable aircraft are available for the duration of the firefight, maintainers from Task Force Mather, the 1106th Aviation Classification and Repair Activity Depot (AVCRAD) and other locations state-wide provide the linchpin in the effort to knock down the flames. Sgt. Maj. Hal London, aircraft maintenance supervisor for the Sacramento Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF) here at Mather Field, said as many as 35 Guardsmen from the 640th Aviation Support Battalion and the 1-140th Aviation Regiment from Los Alamitos, Calif., 1-168th Aviation Regiment at Mather and the 1106th AVCRAD, located in Fresno, Calif., as well as full-time personnel assigned to the AASF at Mather, have operated nearly 20 hours each day (in shifts) providing aircraft maintenance support for the firefighting effort. "We do everything from conducting aircraft maintenance inspections and unscheduled repairs to fixing Bambi buckets and repairing California Department of Forestry-specific equipment," London said. "At some time, every maintainer here has put hands on every [Guard helicopter] that's fought the fires." One of the most challenging aspects of keeping aircraft mission-capable is identifying maintenance needs and ensuring the aircraft receive the proper level of maintenance support. To do this, the maintainers utilize a tracking system that determines when an aircraft is scheduled to receive maintenance, as well as utilizing contact teams in the field and even reaching back to the AVCRAD for additional support. "We know which aircraft will need scheduled maintenance by looking at our tracking system, and we have contact teams in the field that perform preventative maintenance, inspections and minor maintenance while the aircrew rests after a mission," London said. "If there are additional repairs or in-depth maintenance inspections needed, the aircraft will be flown here, or in the event repairs exceed our abilities it will be flown to the AVCRAD." But, London added, tracking can become difficult when aircraft from out of state Guard units are introduced into the mix. "Our biggest challenge, so far, has been trying to predict what's going to be needed for the out-of-state aircraft since they aren't programmed into our tracking system," he said. "We've had to revert to a manual system to track those, though, so it really hasn't been a problem." London credits several factors to the unit's ability to keep the aircraft on mission, such as having personnel deployed to Mather from the AVCRAD, as well as other Guard units' ensuring their aircraft are properly maintained. "The AVCRAD has taken a lot of weight off us, not only by having personnel deployed here, but also by providing parts and allowing us to send aircraft to them for specialized maintenance issues," he said. "A major role in having AVCRAD personnel here is having specialized experience available that allows us to do things we might not otherwise be able to do." In fact, London said at one point a UH-60 Black Hawk arrived with an auxiliary power unit problem that baffled the maintenance team, so the aircraft was flown to the AVCRAD where maintainers had the specialized tools and equipment to troubleshoot and fix the problem. Lt. Col. Paul Bryant, the AVCRAD deputy commander, said it's been a team effort. "We primarily act more as backup due to the fact that we have our additional full-time requirement supporting 13 western states' Guard units, as well as balancing our war support mission with state support," he said. "But for the fire support mission we've been able to supply things to the field quickly and provide on-site experience to determine what may be better suited for AVCRAD support. "Having AVCRAD folks deployed to Mather gives them better exposure to other maintainers and builds their skills while also building relationships." Echoing the colonel's comments, Chief Warrant Officer Remi Desiga, the AVCRAD's production control manager, who also serves as a liaison between the AVCRAD and JTF Sentinel, said the effort has also generated satisfaction among those involved. "The fires have kept us busy, providing personnel and maintenance support to the effort, but our folks will do whatever they have to in order to get the job done," Desiga said." In fact, when this kicked off, an aircraft came in requiring phase maintenance, something that normally takes 25 days to complete. The AVCRAD jumped on the mission request and was able to get the aircraft out the door and fighting fires in 16 days." London said there were several keys to their success. "Everything from having AVCRAD support here and reach-back at the facility, to good preventative maintenance by our contact teams in the field and out-of-state units ensuring their aircraft are well-taken care of has definitely made things easier for us," he said. "That has allowed us to keep the aircraft on-line and safely fighting fires."
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