European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 20, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 8 a a a the stars and stripes ��i8== hip Milf a. A amp Fil 1 b.�---4 Ull Auk -111 Pic Yuri staff sgt. Rick Strasser right and another Mechanic inspect the c-5 Galaxy a faulty front Landing St Njo Svi a Ceca it Wley when the saudi sky Rains air planes maintenance units plug the leaks by Vince Crawley staff writer an air base in saudi Arabia a the front Landing strut on a c-5 Galaxy is As big around As an Oak tree. It splits into two smaller limbs and these were arched Over staff sgt. Rick Strasserr a head while he watched another ground crewman climb up into the Metal boughs. The air plane stretched above and behind them almost As far As you could see. A it s a big Shock absorber a Strasser said describing the strut. A it s built along the same lines As the one in your car is Only its and it was leaking. Strasser 29, comes from Perryopolis pa., not far from Pittsburgh. He a spent 11 years working on aircraft hydraulics the last year and a half on c-5s, the biggest air plane in the air Force Fleet. He used to work on nimbler a-10 fighters and there Are Days when he wishes he still did. Like today. A "i1�?T5 a a Hole. Different world coming off a Little air plane he said a where you can pick up this same strut by yourself and throw it in the Back of a truck i liked fighters. They were this on the other hand is a monumental chore. Back in the states Patching the Hydraulic fluid leak would have taken about three hours. Here in the desert it would take 12. A some of the special tools a he said a we done to have available to us. So we have to fake it do it the hard Way. Hopefully Well get it done it was near Sunset which comes Early in saudi Arabia Between 5 30 and 6 . Strasser figured head be working on the strut until 2 . Plugging Hydraulic leaks on c-5 galaxies Isnit the Only monumental chore out Here for the 438th Field Maint and organizational Maint squadrons. These Are the units that must turn air planes around at the busiest amen can air base in saudi Arabia. Its name and location Are classified but most desert shield gis landed Here a and maybe spent a night in a hangar Here a before being sent away to their part of the desert. A when we got Here there was nothing Here. We were the first air plane on the ground a said Mai. Norm Cole commander of the 438th Field Maint so and the senior maintenance Man at the base. His Home base is Mcguire fab . Cole knew at the beginning that there were More air planes on the Way but he said no one in the unit was prepared for what followed when a the sky rained even now a month and a half later there often Are usually six or eight aircraft on the ground. The record is 26, a combination of c-5s, 141s, wide body airliners and a couple of c-130s,�?� Cole said pointing out that not Many of them were Small. His Job is to get them refuelled resupplied and off the ground As quickly As possible. The average turnaround time is less than three hours but it can Crow longer. 6 a when you be got four c-5s, two dc-1 of and three c-14is, it really eats up fuel a he said. Cole started with 105 people. Reinforcements did no tame until after traffic had slowed. A tie to at affected the Guys the most a Cole said was the sheer numbers of aircraft dropping out of the sky needing to be turned around. None of us had Ever seen anything like that.5 of 24 Al 5 jets bought by saudis leave Pitburg a by Deedee Arrington Doke Kaiserslautern Bureau Pitburg a West Germany a five of 24 fighters that the United states has sold to saudi Arabia left Pitburg a for the Middle East at Dawn wednesday. Seven planes originally were scheduled to leave Pitburg m the first shipment but Only five took off because preflight checks revealed a fuel leak in one plane and a Hydraulic leak in another. One of the seven was to have been a spare and was to return to bit Uig at the first refuelling if the remaining six were Able to Fly on to saudi Arabia twelve of the 11-year-old planes sold be toned to Pitburg Abs 36th tac fighter wine Pitburg will have More than 60 Al 5s once those sold to the saudis Are gone. Hie other 12 were assigned to the 32nd tac fighter so at Oesterberg a Netherlands the Al 5 Eagle built by Mcdonnell Douglas is designed for air to air combat. The 24 fighters were sold to the saudis As part of a nearly $3 billion defense package put together in the Wake of Iraq s invasion of Kuwait. Col. John a. Judd 36th tac fighter Wing commander said wednesday that he had not been told whether he would get replacement fighters. But the number of pilots assigned to Pitburg a will be slowed to match the number of available aircraft there Judd said. The goal is 1.25 pilots per aircraft. A everything should be Normal a Judd said of meeting training requirements. Crews have worked 12-hour shifts without Days off for two weeks to prepare the planes for shipment. A Day off still is at least nine Days away for some involved with the extensive project which involves removing old markings and repainting the aircraft. The Al 5s will Wear removable . Air Force markings in route to saudi Arabia where they will be taken off. Senior airman Matthew Sumrell of the 36th equipment Maint so said the refinishing project has kept him Busy. A a we re doing As Many this month As wed do in a year a Sumrell said. Sanding an aircraft usually takes one week for seven people working 10-hour Days. Forty people including members of other units Are completing two air planes in 21/2 Days. Maintenance Crews also Are among those working around the clock. Quot instead of doing 30 or 180-Day interval checks we Are doing Fine tooth inspections and major maintenance said capt. Alex Cruz officer in charge of the Transfer Dock. A a it a pretty much the same As if we were transferring them Back to the states or another command. Once these jets land in saudi they wont need anything major for about six two f-l5s that did not leave As scheduled 8� with the next shipment Cruz sad he did not know when that group would take off because diplomatic clearances and Tanker assistance require coordination. Airmen unashamed of enjoying Gulf More than most a a a a Tadly Jot ooh Ren Yov go re coming a tto Aff that much Caserto going in bases around the Force. No matter How much Vou like r. Senior airman Ken Pagurek 24, c Here eat three hot your Job you done to want to be Here a he 0cw.ay� said that people Fror s even a base sex said. A but that a Cool. We signed on the military Airlift come Are doing thei a Attoh Una \17aw inc wartime to Fth Ovan. A-., a a a a a Blanp by Vince Crawley staff writer an air base in saudi Arabia a sgt. Chris Yabor pays special attention to the faces. He san air Force ground crewman at the main american air base in saudi Arabia and every Day he sees newly arrived soldiers and marines filing out of air planes on their Way to the desert. A we see a lot of their faces Quot said from All the other air bases around the world. The airmen meals a Day. There change. And buddies Are living the Good life and they know it. And they re not ashamed of it. A the air Force has it a lot better than most a said senior jul mat s Tuioi. We signed on the a dotted line. We re doing what we sited wartime jobs every Day. A your plane up were m the Caribbean after Hurricane Hugo. In Armenia during the Earth up for. Part of what they signed up for Gospodarek said is living near an air base and having air conditioned tents. The soldiers and marines out in the we see a ii of their laces a said gos Nowhare to a we Quot a ?11 Aathony me soldiers and marines out in the ? n0 is lib a balt 1�2 vsadded.5 what hey signed a a a for Gospodarek is 22 and comes from Manitowoc wis. Like Yabor he a assigned to the 438th Field Maint so out of Mcguire fab . Into. Every time i see these Guys with their faces a they done to know where they re going Yabor on the other hand knows where he s going. To an air conditioned a having those Guys out there makes us feel a lot safer Gospodarek said. And the More soldiers and equipment that come in the better he feels. A the quicker still he says life a. The desert air base quake. In Liberia to evacuate people. Ii Panama. Every Day our planes Are taking people Back to Freedom. Every he added a if it Wasny to for Mac Hal these Guys in desert shield would no a a we re making Money for the Aii Force a said Gospodarek a the Guys say their Job is to train for Comba the Way we look at it we say a there your Cnance. Prove w prove ourselves every Day.1
