Military

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM (USAFENS) - They are the veins and arteries that carry the lifeblood to hundreds of workers keeping the coalition bombing effort pumping on time.

Every cell feeds different parts of the mission, filling the needs of the maintainers and bomb loaders who depend on the airmen of aerospace ground equipment to keep the flightline moving. Because of them, the heart of the mission continues to beat on.

The AGE shop provides everything maintainers need from mobile generation sets that supply power to portable lighting, for a mission that goes on day or night.

"AGE supports everything on the flightline," said Tech. Sgt. Dave Oian, noncommissioned officer in charge. "We're there at every recovery, every launch and everywhere in between."

AGE not only supplies the equipment maintainers need on the ground, it performs scheduled inspections and unscheduled maintenance, averaging about 40 to 50 dispatches per day, Oian added.

"We definitely feel a sense of urgency here that we don't feel at our home station," said Oian, who, along with his team of ten, is deployed from Minot Air Force Base, N.D. "At home, if a training sortie doesn't go then it'll just go another day. Here, it's critical that every sorties goes. There is a definite timeline that comes down and our job is to support that timeline to the best of our ability."

When the team deployed to this forward operating location, they brought with them 60 pieces of equipment ranging from maintenance stands to air compressors. The rest of the equipment was mothballed here as war readiness materials. These materials had operational checks performed on them every 90 days. When the team arrived, its first days were spent performing full operational checks. All of the equipment was in perfect working order, said Oian, except for the aircraft jacks.

"The 30-ton jacks used on the B-52s were 'Red X'd (not certified) only because this base didn't have testing capabilities," he said. "We were able to get to another base to have them tested and returned 100 percent of them to mission capable status in 3 days."

In-commission rate is the percentage of equipment available for use and it's vital here, where operations are 24-hours. The AGE shop is on 12-hours shifts - all of it spent feeding the flightline.

"We're always moving," Oian said. "With jets in the front, back and all sides of you, we have to keep our heads on a swivel.

"One of the most important parts of our job is safety. Safety is paramount because there's a lot of chances to get hurt out here," Oian explained. "But the most important thing is making sure the maintainers have what they need, when they need it."

Their philosophy of doing business is appreciated, especially by Master Sgt. Joseph Spicciati, weapons loader superintendent.

"The support we've received has been awesome. They definitely keep us in business," he said. "If I have a jammer (weapons loader) down I just call a member of the team and I'm guaranteed to have it in no more than 30 minutes."

Or as Oian likes to say, "There's no air power without ground power."

And the mission's heart beats on and on.