TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Airmen with the 325th Maintenance Squadron aerospace ground equipment flight ensure 145 pieces of different ground support equipment are serviced and ready to support a mission of total air dominance at a moment’s notice.
AGE can range from flood lights, to high pressure air compressors, heaters, air conditioners or generators powerful enough to start up an F-22 Raptor. While each piece of equipment has a specific purpose, the Airmen who manage, maintain and service the equipment have one priority: to keep the mission going.
“We have a role that is more behind the scenes, but the bottom line is if we weren’t here doing our job, the aircraft wouldn’t be able to do its job,” said Tech. Sgt. Cody Skipper, 325th MXS AGE squadron production superintendent. “There is no air power without ground power.”
Ground support equipment is used across the installation, not just on the flight line. 325th Security Forces Squadron defenders utilize heaters while manning the gates during the winter months and flood lights to continue training with or without the sun. Bomb lifts, also maintained and serviced by the AGE flight, are utilized by the 325th Munitions Squadron to load, unload and transport ammunition.
“The most common service that we provide is scheduled inspections and preventative maintenance,” said Staff Sgt. David Stribling, 325th MXS AGE craftsman. “Each piece of equipment needs to be inspected every six months, and fully serviced every year.”
Skipper added that in order to keep all of the equipment serviceable and the fleet healthy, they execute approximately 50 inspections a month.
Because the range of different equipment is extensive, AGE Airmen need to be able to troubleshoot and repair a multitude of different types of engines and equipment.
“We are the veterinarians of the flight line,” said Skipper. “We can fix a host of issues ranging from battery swaps to performing wiring harness changes, troubleshooting circuits and replacing entire engines and radiators.”
While the AGE flight works in the shadows of Tyndall’s units, they are a necessary asset to supporting both air and ground operations and training across the installation.