Maintainers face bone-chilling cold for boom swap Published March 7, 2014 By Tech. Sgt. Mark R. W. Orders-Woempner 434th ARW Public Affairs GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- While the phrase, "Keep 'em flying" was used to sell war bonds during WWII, that motto has become a way of life for Air Force maintainers. Recently, 434th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron maintainers at Grissom have had to face bone-chilling temperatures during a record setting winter to keep their KC-135R Stratotankers flying. This was seen recently as several of Grissom's maintenance troops worked to swap out a boom on the back of a KC-135. "We were doing an acceptance inspection after this came back from [programed depot maintenance], and during routine maintenance there was a loud noise we couldn't identify as we telescoped the boom in and out," said Tech. Sgt. Randy Brooks, 434th AMXS aircraft pneudraulic technician. "It's heavy maintenance to get in there, and we'd have to gut this boom to fix it, so it's quicker to change this boom and send it off to get fixed." Depot-level maintenance includes the repair, modifications or updates to aircraft beyond the capabilities of what can be found at operating locations. Since the aircraft recently returned from depot, Brooks said the maintainers decided to send it back to have it fixed there. "We have a choice -- we can take this off and send it to our back shop guys who can fix it, or we can replace it and send this one back to depot," he explained. "Since it came from depot, we will send it back to them." While this scenario involved hydraulic troops swapping out a boom due to a maintenance defect, boom swaps by 434th Maintenance Squadron hydraulic back shop happen frequently at Grissom. "Our back shop guys swap out booms every two years on these aircraft," said Brooks. "We just did this one because of the noise." Grissom maintainers are responsible for maintaining the 434th Air Refueling Wing's 16 KC-135Rs. The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R unit in the Air Force Reserve. Because of this, 434th ARW Airmen and aircraft routinely deploy around the globe in support of the Air Force mission and U.S. strategic objectives. Stay connected with the 434th ARW on Facebook and Twitter.
