Maintainers make most of exercise training, create own scenarios

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Jason Schaap
  • 931st Air Refueling Group Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  They were all dressed up with nowhere to counterattack. Such was the situation here when a group of aircraft maintenance Reservists recently showed up at the flightline for Ability-to-Survive-and-Operate training.

The scheduled training was part of a three-day Operational Readiness Exercise that featured Airmen from the 931st Air Refueling Group fully-integrating with Airmen from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing, the 931st's Regular Air Force host unit here. The joint exercise, a first for Team McConnell, was designed to train Airmen for battle.

But the battle never came to the 931st maintainers one early morning because, as occurs in battle, there was a communication breakdown. Such is military life, the seasoned maintainers in the group understood. The ATSO must go on, they decided.

"We got on the phones," Chief Master Sgt. Dail Bruce, the senior maintainer in the group, said, "trying to get people to come over."

The 931st's Master Sgt. Bryan Lawley, a jet engine mechanic, and Tech. Sgt. John Bryan, readiness superintendent, volunteered to serve as impromptu evaluators of the maintainers' ad lib performance. A group of motivated Reservists were ready for them when they arrived, as were a hodgepodge of ATSO props.

Kitchen tongs, door mats, empty bottles, an old metal tank, miscellaneous wires, basically, "whatever we could get our hands on," Chief Bruce said, became key scenario components. The bottles and tank were used as simulated explosive devices. Mats served as decontamination buckets. Airmen defended themselves with tongs and fingers.

"It sounds silly," the chief added, "but it's what we had."

As Capt. Doug Crow, the 931st's ORE organizer, drove up to the scene, he could see the maintainers had truly made something from nothing. "They had cones up, they were doing (reconnaissance), they had (their protective) gear on," he said. "They even supplied their own (evaluators)."

The captain noted that there were no officers in the group. Leading the way were enlisted maintainers like Chief Bruce, who could be heard yelling scenario conditions like "Ground Attack, Ground Attack" and "MOPP-4" to the Airmen.

"It was nice to take the initiative," Tech. Sgt. Geoff Begey said. "Chief Bruce did a good job ... There's a lot of young guys who never did that stuff before. It was a good learning experience for them."

Sergeant Begey played the part of an enemy combatant during the ATSO training and was one of the many Airmen who Chief Bruce asked to stand and be recognized during a post-exercise meeting on Nov. 18.

"We had guys adding camouflage to their uniform--they were really getting into it," Chief Bruce said. "We have such a positive team ... I didn't see negative. They were making the best of it."

Captain Crow was equally impressed by the maintainers' dedication. He remembered watching them go so far as to drink water from their canteens through their gas masks, an unpleasant aspect of training most are happy to avoid.

"Everywhere you went there were guys dressing out," the captain said, "and all with a thumbs-up attitude."

Maintainers comprised most of the ORE participants who attended the Nov. 18 post-exercise meeting. Lt. Col. Chris Amend, addressing the Airmen on behalf of the 931st command staff, said the Group's leadership was "real pleased" with their performance.

"Attitudes were great," Colonel Amend said. "If you were frustrated, you didn't let it show."

There's no room for frustration in an ORE, the maintainers proved, because the ATSO must go on.