Released: Nov. 4, 2002
AGE troops keep mission running
By Rebecca Anne Fritz
5th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (ACCNS) -- A bright light shines through the
cold, night air as a Minot security forces member stands outside the base’s
main gate. Snow-filled winds whip at his face, but his parka shields some
of the blow.
In the arctic grips of winter, the job of a security forces airman in
North Dakota may be considered unbearable at times. Fortunately, Minot’s
5th Maintenance Squadron Aerospace Ground Equipment flight brings them
warmth during the bitter winter nights.
AGE provides generators, heaters, air conditioners, portable lighting
systems, air compressors, hydraulic and non-powered equipment maintenance,
and repair support-- a total of 750 pieces of equipment assigned to
Minot.
“Such amenities would not be available without the 115 troops
maintaining and supplying the equipment,” said Senior Master Sgt. Scott
Parish, the AGE flight chief.
AGE provides floodlights and portable heaters for security forces troops,
air conditioners for base dining facilities and portable power generators
to the dormitories.
The maintenance troops work on the MHU-196 munitions-handling trailer, the
Air Force’s only handling trailer with the ability to load cruise
missiles onto a B-52. The munitions-handling trailer is exclusive to AGE,
and takes an additional year of training to use.
AGE members start their 16-week training at Sheppard Air Force Base,
Texas, where they learn the basics of heating, air conditioning, gasoline
engines, turbo engines, air compressor systems and electronics. They
continue their education on the job, learning the specifics of the
equipment assigned to their particular base.
“Our primary job (at Minot) is to support the bomb squadron,” said
Master Sgt. Timothy Mace, the AGE production supervisor at Minot. “Yet,
there are a lot of agencies, both in our local community and on base, that
AGE supports.”
AGE supplied support when an electrical fire consumed Minot’s Golf-01
missile-alert facility in November 2000, Parish said. His troops provided
24-hour service and equipment for the clean-up. AGE also contributed to
the clean-up effort in January, when a train derailed on the Highway 83
bypass in Minot, spilling anhydrous ammonia.
“I believe that our AGE members do a wonderful, yet thankless job,”
Mace said. “Even though agencies get the needed equipment, they rarely
realize that AGE troops are the ones supporting and providing it.”