KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- The 18th Wing Inspector General conducted a major accident response exercise involving Airmen assigned to the 67th Fighter Generation Squadron, 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron, 18th Civil Engineer Squadron, and 18th Wing Safety during a routine readiness exercise at Kadena Air Base, Japan, May 6, 2025.
During the training, 67th FGS maintainers simulated a hot pit refueling on an F-15C Eagle, when a crew chief was given an inject card scenario of an indicated right engine fire from the inspector general. Maintainers then quickly reacted to the ground mishap by communicating with the R-11 fuel truck operators to clear the area. Firefighters from 18th CES were then called to the scene to extinguish the simulated fire. The 18th Wing’s EOD team was then called to work on the simulated live munitions and turned over to 18th Wing Safety for final assessment.
“Scenarios like this keeps their training sharp, practicing the things they don't get to do on a day-to-day basis,” said Tech. Sgt. Matthew MilBrecht, 18th Wing IG NCOIC of wing inspection. “As a Wing we need to be better at flight mishaps and there’s a lot of communication that goes on in these scenarios across many units.”
The crew chief is the point of contact to reach to the Maintenance Operations Center and relay the information to the entire flightline. U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jose Valdez, 18th Maintenance Group quality assurance group WIT lead, emphasized the role of the crew chief and their level of responsibility in needing to move everybody as safely as possible.
“It's important to know exactly what the possibilities are during a ground emergency, so you know exactly what to do and how you can minimize the risk and time of the ground emergency,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Clark Kent Pacay, 67th FGS F-15C Eagle dedicated crew chief. “I am happy to know that all the Airmen that I am in charge of know their roles and take their job very seriously… and they remember what they're taught and can plug it in and play it whenever the time comes.”
Learning from planned and executed operations, the 18th Wing will continue to flex its enhanced operational abilities to respond to real world scenarios as the Keystone of the Pacific.