Aircrew life support, survival equipment merge to form Aircrew Flight Equipment

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Parker Gyokeres
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  To streamline two formerly overlapping specialties, the Air Force is merging the aircrew life support and survival equipment career fields into a single organization.

The new career field, known as aircrew flight equipment, was created to take advantage of the skills both former specialties had at inspecting, repairing and issuing the same aircrew equipment, said Maj. David Anderson, 347th Operations Support Squadron AFE flight commander.

"Previously, both sections were working on the same aircrew equipment, with life support providing the aircrew support, equipment fitting and inspection, and the survival flight responsible for repair, major inspections and parachute repacking," said Major Anderson. "For example, if a life support technician found a discrepancy on a piece of equipment such as a fraying stitch on a parachute harness, he had to remove the article from service for up to two days so it could be sent to the other side of the base for repair by a different organization.

"Now, once Airmen have finished their two-month cross-utilization training, they will be qualified to repair the harness in-house in only minutes," he continued. "We are essentially doubling the amount of qualified people capable of performing the same mission."

Moody Airmen are scheduled to begin CUT training July 1, said Senior Master Sgt. Robert Anderson, 347th OSS AFE flight chief. Upon graduating the course, newly trained technicians will be able to work in a flying squadron's life support shop or in the survival equipment shop.

But the merger does more than streamline processes, it also eases a large deployment burden from the shoulders of the life support flights, said the flight chief.

"Previously, survival equipment Airmen were left out of the deployment loop because aircraft equipment could be cycled through for inspection and repairs prior to deployments," said Sergeant Anderson. "I believe this had a negative impact on morale because the technicians didn't feel like they were part of the fight. On the other hand, the squadron-based life support sections had a demanding deployment tempo and were frequently away from home.

"With this merger, we have a marriage of over-and under-stressed career fields that should balance out," he continued.

As with any marriage, there will be some bugs to work out to make sure everything goes smoothly, said Master Sgt. Randall Cnota, 347th OSS AFE program manager.

"I think the biggest challenge for Moody has been the diversity of our missions," said Sergeant Cnota. "Moody has a unique combination of combat search and rescue, combat security forces and an incoming pair of fighter squadrons. It is a real test to ensure all of our Airmen are treated fairly in terms of training, utilization, support and opportunities. These changes must be transparent and seamless for our customers - the aircrew. You cannot take any attention away from equipment that saves lives."

Despite the struggle ahead, this is a change that has been in the works for some time and should be a "win-win" for all involved, said Sergeant Cnota.

"I remember having a conversation with my instructor about this very subject when I was attending technical training at Chanute Air Force Base, Ill., in 1987," said the survival equipment supervisor. "He told me then how the Air Force was planning to merge survival with life support. If you ask me, I think it's about time."