Fabrication flight opens modern paint facility

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Sandra Marrero
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs
Moody Air Force Base, Ga. --  The 23d Equipment Maintenance Squadron fabrication flight debuted its newly modernized paint facility here Dec. 2, where everything from plane parts to A-10C Thunderbolt IIs and HH-60G Pave Hawks get painted.

The main focus of the renovation was adding a personal protection equipment room used for cleaning respirators and washing clothes to avoid the spread of contaminants to others.

Operations reinitiated with the painting of an A-10 Dec. 17 after the yearlong renovation.

"It's great compared to what we had before," said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Seth Atkinson, 23d Wing corrosion manager. "There are a lot of dangerous materials we use, so it's important [workers] have a place to decontaminate, so that they're not taking it home to their families."

A 2010 Corrosion Office audit showed there was room for safety improvements to the old facility, which prompted action from Air Combat Command and base leadership.

"We did a $4 million renovation on building 738 and building 744, which pretty much gave us a brand new paint insert where we actually do the work as well as renovating the areas where we transition into an office environment ... essentially a decontamination area," said Atkinson.

The paint facility, renovated with safety in mind, was outfitted with up-to-date technology.

"It's good because the old paint barn was functional, but it had old technology," said Senior Airman John Mercer, 23d EMS aircraft structural maintenance journeyman. "All this stuff right here is regulated. We have humidity and the air pressure ... monitored in the system now, so if anything goes below standards, it automatically throws an alarm so you can do whatever it takes to fix it."

Atkinson said the 23d EMS fabrication flight has improved their ability to stop the spread of contaminants which provides a safe environment not only for workers, but for their families and others on base.