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Flight increases survival odds of Pacific aircrews

02/07/02 - YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- The 36th Airlift Squadron here serves as the airlift "hub" of the Pacific Region, and its fleet of 13 C-130 Hercules aircraft are constantly on the go. Squadron people support various humanitarian, joint-exercise and real-world operations in an area covering about 3 million square miles of water, dense jungles, snow-capped mountains and barren deserts.

Although the risks of flying over most of these areas are minimal, the 14-person life support flight here ensures that aircrews assigned or in-transit to the base are well prepared, trained and properly equipped just in case unplanned ditching or landing occurs in unfriendly and inhospitable environments.

Staff Sgt Darnell Burton, an aircrew life support technician, teaches pilots, navigators, flight engineers and loadmasters the importance of knowing their survival gear. He stresses "locate it, identify it and operate it" during his emergency egress classes. "If you don't know how to use your radio and signaling devices, the chances of your being found increasingly decrease," he said. "And raising the odds of the aircrew surviving is one of the primary goals of these [life support specialists]."

Last year the flight supported hundreds of local and temporary-duty crews flying the Pacific route. Their missions ranged from minor repairs to extensive equipment overhauls while maintaining a wide variety of life support gear for every type of aircraft in the Air Force inventory.

"We have a very high ops tempo here," said Master Sgt Richard Bruck, flight chief. "In life support, training never stops. You're either training someone or being trained to stay current on the latest equipment."

Bruck keeps the life support slogan, "Your life is our business," prominently displayed on his wall. The slogan says exactly how serious their mission is.

Typically, life support duties include inspecting, testing, maintaining, and repairing parachutes, survival vests, helmets, oxygen masks, life rafts and night-vision equipment to ensure that they are in serviceable condition. Some of the equipment is issued to aircrews and some is pre-positioned on an aircraft.

Although most of these items are not used daily, Bruck said it is vital those items are thoroughly inspected. Life support specialists take time to check and double-check every piece of equipment making sure that each is in top shape. There are no second chances with life support equipment.

"Someone's life depends on it," Bruck said.