Reservists generate power for Grissom Published June 2, 2013 By Staff Sgt. Ben Mota 434th ARW Public Affairs GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- Two civil engineers from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. generate electricity and a working partnership with Grissom. Airman 1st Class David Brand and Senior Airman Jonathan Kocack, 514th Civil Engineer Squadron electric power production specialists, recently completed a 55 day temporary duty assignment here to ensure Grissom's fleet of generators were functional and prepared for deployment. "These generators we have been working on have several purposes," said Kocack. "They can be used for training, overseas deployments, and even local disasters." Grissom has several generators in its inventory, but in order for the generators to be used they must be functional and the preventative maintenance must be current. "It is our responsibility to ensure that these generators are functional and prepared for service so they can be accessible when they are needed," said Kocack. "We were asked to come to Grissom because at the time Grissom did not have any one in our career field available to do the necessary maintenance, diagnostic and repairs needed to make the generators serviceable." Some of the generators the Airman serviced are 20-30 years old and had not been used for long periods of time. "Generators are a lot like cars, and if they are not used every day the fuel can deteriorate, corrosion can build on the electrical components, and the batteries can fail," said Kocack. "We check all the fluids to ensure the generators are operating properly, and then we check all the major components of the generator to ensure they will remain operating for prolonged future use." The team also assessed generators to determine if it would be more cost effective to make repairs or to replace them. "Sometimes it is more cost effective to replace an old generator than to fix it," said Brand. "When this happens it is important to identify the issue so the generator can be replaced and so future preventative maintenance is not wasted on them." The working relationship with other units helps Grissom stay prepared and mission ready. At the same time it provides other units with on the job upgrade training and valuable experience that can only be gained with real life scenarios. "This tour helped me out because I got hands on experience with the generators that had malfunctions similar to those that would be seen in a deployed environment," said Brand. "We were also able to build a working relationship with Grissom that benefited both of us in a positive way." While at Grissom, the two Airmen conducted preventative maintenance and inspections on more than 50 generators, but most of all they demonstrated how the mission is a team effort. Grissom is home to the 434th Air Refueling Wing, the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. Airmen from the 434th ARW routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission and U.S. strategic objectives. Stay connected with the 434th ARW on Facebook and Twitter.
