Behind the scenes with the 35th EAS: life support Published Jan. 30, 2010 By Master Sgt. Stan Coleman 35 Expeditionary Airlift Squadron MUNIZ AIR BASE, Puerto Rico -- Editor's note: Master Sgt. Stan Coleman deployed from the 94th Airlift Wing to provide Public Affairs assistance to the 35th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at Muniz Air Base San Juan, Puerto Rico. Master Sgt. Aaron Siek, 35th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron life support NCO, ensured the survivability of C-130 pilots flying Operation Unified Response missions out of Muniz Air Base. Sergeant Siek is assigned from the Minnesota Air National Guard's 133rd Airlift Wing . His unit's two-week assignment to the U.S. Southern Command's Coronet Oak mission required constant inspections and maintenance of Coronet Oak aircrews' life support equipment. His inspections of aircrew life support and survival equipment--such as flight helmets, headsets, night vision goggles, parachutes and oxygen masks--ensure aircrew members won't have to worry about the equipment that will help them perform their jobs and survive in case of an emergency. Life support technicians not only ensure the operation of aircrew and aircraft life support equipment, they also bring extra parts and perform repairs to ensure an aircrew member's personal equipment is working. "Our job also requires us to instruct aircrews on how to survive in case an emergency does occur with the aircraft," said Sergeant Siek. "A life support technician's training requires attendance to several schools," he said. "Some of the instruction we provide aircrews include "water and land survival; how to react to rapid decompression of an aircraft; and life support equipment training."
