Wing's newest squadron maintains, trains through obstacles, successes

  • Published
  • By By Senior Airman Andria J. Allmond
  • 512th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The wing's newest squadron turns one in February. 

For the past year, the 712th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron has worked side-by-side active-duty's newly-formed 736th AMXS to perform all the flightline maintenance for Dover's seven C-17 Globemaster IIIs. 

The two units were formed this year prior to the June 4 arrival of Dover's first C-17, the Spirit of the Constitution. 

With a new aircraft and a new squadron, the units have had some growing pains as standing up a squadron is no easy task. 

Training is the biggest challenge for the 712th AMXS, said Senior Master Sergeant Don Kimball, 712th AMXS flight chief. While most mechanics are a five or seven skill level on the C-5, the newly converted C-17 maintainers need to undergo C-17 training.
The 712th AMXS Commander Lt. Col. Gretchen Kurlander said only two traditional reservists came into the squadron with C-17 experience. 

"Finding time to train the reservist becomes an issue," she said. "Getting a traditional reservist to commit to 30 to 40 days in school and then another 30-40 days here is a pretty big obligation." 

Other training options include seasoning training at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., or McGuire AFB, N.J., where they have a greater number of C-17s. 

Currently, of the squadron's 92 personnel, ten are fully-qualified mechanics and another 67 Airmen are in various levels of training, said Sergeant Kimball. 

The 712th AMXS's counterpart, the 736th AMXS, which was activated in April, has grown from its original 35 members to nearly 110; and in November was at about 50 percent of its end strength. 

In addition to training, another challenge the 712th AMXS has faced concerns personnel glitches dealing with medical records. 

"A lot of systems are still being notified about our Airmen changing from the 512th AMXS to the 712th AMXS," said Colonel Kurlander. "The transition will take time. Eventually these things will smooth themselves over." 

Despite these hurdles, Chief Master Sgt. Fred Traute, 712th AMXS superintendent, said the squadron is actually ahead of schedule to have full operational capability. While the date tasked for the unit to be at FOC is three years away, he said he believes his crew will be prepared by January 2009. 

Another stride the maintenance squadron is proud of is its continuing relationship with its active-duty counterparts and fostering the Team Dover concept. 

"We're a very tight team," said Chief Traute. "Being co-located with the active duty ensures a lot of interaction and communication." 

The squadrons recently moved into the newly remodeled Building 760. 

"We decided to create a workplace that was fully integrated with our Reserve partners," said Lt. Col. Ray Briggs, 736th AMXS commander. "We told the people doing (the blueprints) that we wanted to share the rooms across the board." 

This integration extends into the workforce as the first sergeant for the 736th AMXS is also the first shirt for the 712th AMXS. 

Senior Master Sgt. Charles Harrell, who retires in January, volunteered to cover the position until it could be filled by an active-duty first shirt, said Colonel Briggs. 

Even with training still underway and some issues with transferring records, the 712th AMXS and 736th AMXS are quickly becoming fully functional through joint wing collaboration. 

"We are moving right along and the future looks great," said Chief Traute. "It is all positive in the years to come." 

"We're making all efforts to get all of our people trained, our records straightened out and all the loose ends tied," added Colonel Kurlander. "We're motivated to start the New Year off with all measures in place in order to settle in and meet the maintenance needs of the C-17." 

(Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace, 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs, contributed to this story)