Released: Nov. 20, 2001
Combat AGE Team hits 100 percent
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By Staff Sgt. Robert Zoellner
33rd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (ACCNS) -- Meeting the standard is the Air
Force way, but the 58th Fighter Squadron’s Combat Aerospace Ground
Equipment Team went above and beyond the standard by reaching an
in-commission rate of 100 percent for 16 consecutive days.
The Combat AGE Team maintains and inspects 228 pieces of powered and
non-powered aerospace ground equipment with 23 technicians. Staff Sgt.
Michael Wheat, an AGE journeyman, has been here for four years and is
seeing a 100 percent in-commission rate for the first time.
“This basically meant that we had nothing broken,” said Tech. Sgt.
Anthony Queen, team manager. “Zero units down for maintenance, zero
awaiting parts. Every piece of equipment the we maintain was up and
running and ready for service.”
That is quite an accomplishment, considering most of their equipment is
20 to 30 years old. But looking at how they go about their day-to-day
business, it’s easy to see why their machinery is in such good shape.
“The reason we are where we are is quality service inspections and
quality periodic inspections -- consistently having our heads in the
game,” Queen said.
58th CAT supervisors preach the importance of preventive maintenance and
using the technical data to assure a “quality, flightline-worthy
product,” Queen said. The technicians “find the problems before they
happen.”
His crews know that is why they’ve reached such a goal.
“I feel we’ve been doing our job the way we are supposed to be doing
it, by the book,” Wheat said. “It’s a big deal to us.”
“These guys really amaze me,” said Queen. “They’ve done an
awesome job. They don’t truly understand the enormity of their
accomplishment.”