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Keeping engines running

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jeremy McGuffin
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  What would airplanes be without engines? Pretty displays, said an Airman assigned to the 18th Component Maintenance Squadron propulsion flight.

The flight maintains spare engines for the Kadena Air Base fleet of F-15 Eagles, making sure there are enough assets to back up the aircraft in case of an engine failure.

"We will have anywhere from three to four engines a month in here being worked on," said Staff Sgt. Antonio Montgomery, 18th CMS crew chief. "It's normally preventive scheduled maintenance or a response to a malfunction."

With the 2008 Operational Readiness Inspection under way here, these Airmen continue work as normal, ensuring Kadena F-15's stay in the fight.

"The tempo of our shop has picked up a little," said Sergeant Montgomery. "Our guys are hard at work to get these engines up and running."

When asked how the ORI will effect generation of the engines, Sergeant Montgomery said it would get busy, but they would remain on schedule.

"It will get hectic in here when we move to phase 2 of the exercise," said Sergeant Montgomery. "But we will continue to repair and maintain these engines at 100 percent capacity."

Although the ORI is just starting, the flight is prepared for the rest of the week and is confident about getting a good rating from the Pacific Air Forces Inspector General team.

"We have trained for this day and our guys will get the job done," he said.