Over the last decade, members of Team Dobbins have been no stranger to deployments and mobilizations to support a variety of exercises, contingencies, and operations such as Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom; however, this last year has proven quite the milestone for Dobbins and the 94th Maintenance Group.
During the last 12 months, more than 450 Airmen have deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Inherent Resolve – that’s about a quarter of the wing’s population. While ready and willing to provide Rapid Global Mobility and Agile Combat Support for our nation’s defense, this year has not been without its challenges.
Deployed aircraft technicians from the 94th Maintenance Group regularly work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week in 115-degree weather to ensure the 94th’s fleet of C-130H3 Hercules aircraft are ready to support the fight at a moment’s notice against terrorist groups such as ISIS. Additionally, these Airmen’s technical acumen is stretched to its limits because of the unique challenges of operating in a deployed environment.
1st Lt. Elizabeth Van Patten, the deployed group’s officer-in-charge, highlights the level of excellence required for success.
“This is the varsity squad,” she said. “(We) have to bring our A-game every day to sustain the mission because there are people out there depending on our tactical airlift capability.”
Additionally, as a Reserve unit, particular attention has to be paid to building a team from a highly diverse, highly talented group of people. As Senior Airman Will Ralston, a deployed hydraulics technician, noted when asked about the challenges he faces as a deployed member.
“Being reservists, some of us do not work on Dobbins Air Reserve Base full-time, so building teams with people we don’t see often is important,” he said.
It’s clear the deployed group has built such a team. Despite challenging conditions, extreme heat and an unrelenting operations tempo, the 94th Maintenance Group is clearly overcoming these challenges – they have earned an impressive 100% mission-effectiveness rating.
The lack of manpower has also had an effect on the 94th’s operations as well. Our mission of ensuring mission-ready pilots and aircraft are available here at a moment’s notice does not stop just because more than a quarter of the wing is deployed. Rather, those remaining behind must ensure that regularly scheduled major aircraft inspections occur on schedule. A stop in production would create an unacceptable bottleneck.
Many of our Citizen Airman have stepped up to this challenge by volunteering to serve additional days of reserve duty here at Dobbins to help fill the gap caused by their deployed brothers- and sisters-in-arms. The teamwork displayed has been incredible. Despite a sharp decrease in available manning, the 94th Maintenance Group has conducted two major inspections of its assigned aircraft this summer. This is a major undertaking that involves stripping a C-130 to the bare bones and inspecting every inch of the aircraft, including multiple panels, the wing structure, each engine and miles of avionics and electrical cabling.
Last but most certainly not least, credit is due to the men and women serving on the homefront: the incredibly courageous spouses and families of those deployed. They have readily stepped up and assumed many of the responsibilities they previously shared with their loved ones. Soccer practices, meals, yardwork, homework help, jobs, and oil changes all still have to happen while loved ones are serving abroad. Without their friends’ and families’ loving support, our warriors overseas would find it impossible to stay focused on the mission at hand.
In all of this, Team Dobbins is incredibly grateful for its fellow citizens’ support. The metro Atlanta community has provided an exceptional outpouring of assistance to us via groups such as the USO, the Air Force Association and many others. These tangible expressions of support help provide the fuel for many of our deployed Airmen and their families to soundly overcome the many challenges a deployment poses.