Inspection confirms Combat Flightline results

Lt. Col. Charles Webb
86th Maintenance Group


***image1***The 86th Maintenance Group recently underwent a detailed inspection by the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Logistics Standardization Evaluation Team going through every flight, performing a compliance-oriented inspection.
This was more than just looking through the program’s continuity book, but actually evaluating maintainers while they performed their primary duties.
Fifty-one evaluators inspected the group around the clock for four and a half days.
Using the criteria for Maintenance Standardization and Evaluation Program, the following ratings were awarded:
•86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron: Excellent
•86th Maintenance Squadron: Excellent
•86th Maintenance Operations Squadron: Outstanding
•86th MXG Overall Assessment (279 evaluations with 257 passes): Excellent
The team also conducted a Unit Compliance Guide inspection.
Although this evaluation was not rated, the team felt compelled to unofficially award the 86th MXG with an unprecedented Outstanding rating.
Supporting the ratings, six programs stood out as best practices: the group’s Compliance and Standardization Inspection Team Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, the 76th Aircraft Maintenance Unit Tool Tracking and Inventory Program, the 76th AMU Automated Tail Number Bin Parts Tracking and the 37th AMU Supply Section; from the maintenance squadron, the Aero-space Ground Equipment Flight Technical Order Program; and finally from Maintenance Operations Squadron, the 7104 Review Process were all highlighted as benchmark programs.
These ratings were the result of leadership at all levels demonstrating and expecting a professional attitude.
As the group went about the day-to-day performance of maintaining the health of the Ramstein fleet, that attitude prevailed.
Months of preparing for this specific inspection and a perpetual maintenance culture of doing the job right everyday carried the group through its first compliance-oriented inspection in over four years.
The LSET chief summed it up best with, “the inspection preparedness the 86th MXG exhibited was by far the best the command inspection team has seen.”
As stated by the conclusion of the inspection’s Executive Summary, “the 86th MXG has completely embraced the principles of USAFE’s Combat Flightline Program.”
Combat Flightline continues to receive leadership focus at all levels.
The program is designed to ensure the best people and right resources are applied to flying operations.
Having the right people in the right job with right equipment is the day-to-day focus, but success must be measurable.
Although numerous maintenance metrics provide indicators of success in measuring a specific goal, nothing beats a thorough inspection from an outside agency to truly assess the success of an organization.