Saturday, June 27, 2015 -- The USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) flight line is always active.
Going to the flight-line at night, one will encounter the Marines that keep
aircraft running.
The night crewmen with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron
(VMM) 162 (REINFORCED) conduct maintenance on aircraft between 7 p.m. and 7
a.m. every day aboard the USS Kearsarge.
From regularly scheduled maintenance to advanced repairs and
time critical fixes, the night crew provides the pilots of VMM-162 (REIN.) with
operational aircraft for the wide range of missions they conduct while at sea.
“We fly from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.,” said 1st Lt. Mark T. Heard,
a pilot with the squadron. “A lot of the maintenance [on the aircraft] has to
be conducted at night because of this window.”
The crewman work overnight repairing and fixing damages or
issues with the aircraft.
“Often times if something is wrong with the aircraft you’ll
come in the next morning and it will be fixed because of the night crew,” said
Heard.
The crewmen work on every part of the aircraft. Each is
specialized to work on a part of the aircraft based on his or her
certifications, qualifications and experience.
“They literally spend three or four years achieving
qualifications to become experts and make judgment calls on aircraft,” said
Maj. Jason D. Egan, a pilot with the squadron.
Each crewman applies his respective skillset within the crew
he operates. When operating in the night crew, each crew member must use these
skills and operate in tighter time conditions, conducting nighttime flight
operations and conducting aircraft maintenance during irregular working hours.
Working within these time constraints can be difficult for
some, but the night crewmen with VMM-162 maintain a positive attitude in light
of their tasks and share their attitudes visibly on the aircraft they’re
responsible for.
“We take pride in our work,” said Lance Cpl. James Shugart,
a helicopter mechanic with the squadron. “They put our names on the [aircraft]
for a reason, because we take ownership and do our best to keep the aircraft in
the best condition possible.”
The plane captains of the aircraft stencil their names on
the side of their aircraft. This symbolizes the close connection each of them
has with it. Every time an aircraft is operated, the names of those responsible
are displayed on the side of the aircraft, so the crewmen share in its success.
Success is pertinent to the mission of VMM-162. The unit is
responsible for the transport, insertion and extraction of all the units
adjacent to it while operating aboard the USS Kearsarge.
The squadron supports the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit
(MEU), Battalion Landing Team 2/6 and Combat Logistics Battalion 26, and is
slated to deploy with these elements later this year. Each of them relies on
the squadron and provides it with missions. Those missions depend on the
operability of aircraft, thus the night crew directly impacts the mission
success of these units.
“If you took them out of the equation it would hinder the
aircraft, flights and mission success,” said Heard. “It’s out of the question
that they are necessary.”
In addition to their maintenance capabilities, the night
crewmen provide support to operations on the flight-line. They conduct final
maintenance checks and pre-flight inspections to ensure aircraft are ready to
go when it’s time for an operation.
“We move [the aircraft] to the location for take-off, check
the security and body of the aircraft, and communicate with the pilots via hand
signals prior to departure,” said Shugart.
Hand signals are used on the flight-line to provide the
pilots with visible information when they’re on-board an aircraft. This helps
mitigate interference from noise or other sources that could otherwise inhibit
the delivery of a message. The night crewmen help maintain communication
between the flight-line and the pilots in this manner.
Once an aircraft has departed, the operation of the aircraft
is in the hands of the pilots. The operability and functionality of the
aircraft, however, still falls on the night crew that maintains it.
The performance of the night crew’s responsibilities on the
aircraft can be the difference between the success and failure of an aircraft
during operation.
“It’s on us to make sure the pilots and passengers are
safe,” said Shugart. “We ensure everything is ready to go and make the safest
calls possible for the [aircraft] and those on-board.”
Night crewmen aren’t regularly seen by those outside the
flight-line due to their working hours, so interaction with them directly is
limited, but passengers and pilots feel the impact of their work whenever
they’re aboard an aircraft.
“They’re the heart and soul of the squadron,” said Capt.
Thomas F. Gruber, a pilot with the squadron. “They work hard, for long hours
and keep us mission ready.”
The night crew will continue to operate and maintain
aircraft as the MEU, its supporting elements and Amphibious Squadron 4 prepare
to deploy later this year.