Crew chiefs participate in ORE, prepare for war
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho --
Air Force crew chiefs prepare and maintain aircraft to ensure mission success both on deployments and home station.
Gunfighter crew chiefs received the opportunity to showcase their F-15E Strike Eagle generating capabilities during an Operational Readiness Exercise here Nov. 6 and 7.
OREs help new crew chiefs by allowing time for additional training while preparing them for their deployed responsibilities.
"Anything could happen at any time," said Airman Hunter Reynolds, 391st Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief. "You can't tell what is going to happen, so you need to be trained up and able to execute your job."
Mission Oriented Protective Posture alarms and a quicker operations tempo are the biggest differences between an exercise and real-world mission, and keep the crew chiefs on their toes. One Airman from the AMU feels the exercises are necessary because it gives insight to what they may find while deployed.
"It is the same down range - you have to ensure the jets are up and running," said Airman 1st Class Oren Hemphill, 391st AMU. "It is a faster pace generating aircraft than at home station - you have to learn fast."
During a launch-to-survive operation, Crew Chiefs will launch an aircraft before grabbing their own gear and taking cover after an attack warning has been generated.
While the importance of launching the jets may be well known, the pressures of generating an aircraft within a war zone will only be known to a crew chief.
"You can't really understand unless you just come out and do it," said Reynolds.
Gunfighter crew chiefs received the opportunity to showcase their F-15E Strike Eagle generating capabilities during an Operational Readiness Exercise here Nov. 6 and 7.
OREs help new crew chiefs by allowing time for additional training while preparing them for their deployed responsibilities.
"Anything could happen at any time," said Airman Hunter Reynolds, 391st Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief. "You can't tell what is going to happen, so you need to be trained up and able to execute your job."
Mission Oriented Protective Posture alarms and a quicker operations tempo are the biggest differences between an exercise and real-world mission, and keep the crew chiefs on their toes. One Airman from the AMU feels the exercises are necessary because it gives insight to what they may find while deployed.
"It is the same down range - you have to ensure the jets are up and running," said Airman 1st Class Oren Hemphill, 391st AMU. "It is a faster pace generating aircraft than at home station - you have to learn fast."
During a launch-to-survive operation, Crew Chiefs will launch an aircraft before grabbing their own gear and taking cover after an attack warning has been generated.
While the importance of launching the jets may be well known, the pressures of generating an aircraft within a war zone will only be known to a crew chief.
"You can't really understand unless you just come out and do it," said Reynolds.
