727th AMS maintenance to close Oct. 1

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Eric Petosky
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  As of Oct. 1, the 727th Air Mobility Squadron will no longer offer maintenance services for visiting C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. 

The maintenance section is closing due to the inability of maintainers to stay proficient because of the steady decline in the use of RAF Mildenhall as an en route stopover for Air Mobility Command missions involving strategic airlift airframes. 

"From a maintenance perspective, it's hard to maintain proficiency on aircraft we don't see very often," said Master Sgt. Bennie Smalls, 727th AMS lead production superintendent. "Almost half of our maintainers come from a 'heavy' background, and the other half must be trained on C-5s and C-17s. If any of them become overdue on training, they will be considered unqualified." 

Unqualified maintainers mean the 727th AMS cannot provide 24-hour support for AMC missions involving "T-tails" which is mandated by its status as an en route stopover. According to Senior Master Sgt. Ed Moss, 727th AMS maintenance superintendent, even if the right planes visit, there is no guarantee they will need the maintenance required to keep maintainers proficient. 

"The flow of strategic airlift doesn't support having maintenance operations here," Sergeant Moss said. "It makes sense to turn it over. In the long run, it's more cost effective to not have us here and move our positions to busier locations within the European En Route." 

There are 34 maintainers left in the squadron today, all of whom will PCS, retire or be assigned to different units at RAF Mildenhall. Only one maintainer will stay as a liaison for deployed aircraft maintenance units that may use RAF Mildenhall as an operating area. 

While RAF Mildenhall will still receive C-5s and C-17s, all maintenance will be accomplished either by transient alert or maintenance response teams.