News for the Ramstein, Kaiserslautern, Landstuhl & Baumholder military communities in Germany 
“Clean before applying paint” is a direction many people may disregard during a home improvement project, but they are words that are well-heeded by the members of the 86th Maintenance Squadron isochronal inspection section.
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Senior Airman Bryan Jordan from the 86th Maintenance Squadron. Jordan’s job is to inspect airframes for structural integrity. During a random inspection, he found a crack in one of the C-130J Super Hercules’ wings.
It takes a certain kind of person to become an effective first sergeant. Working all hours of the day and always having to carry a phone and answer it, first sergeants put the mission before themselves and exude the Air Force second core value: service before self.
Ramstein maintenance Airmen opened a new aerospace ground equipment facility recently, designed around Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st century principles to increase the unit’s effectiveness.
In the early morning, silence fills the rooms of Bldg. 2224. Machines lay still, and tools are neatly placed where they belong. The calm is quickly broken as members of the 86th Maintenance Squadron enter the metals shop and begin their workday.
What is an Air Force without a mission? What is a mission without aircraft? And what is an aircraft without its maintainers?
They come from different walks of life into the Air Force, entrusted with thousands of lives, millions of dollars in cargo and repairing the greatest fleet in the Air Force.
The 86th Maintenance Squadron Aerospace Ground Equipment flight maintains all equipment on the flightline. If it deals with generators powering idle aircraft or heaters and air conditioners, chances are these Airmen are behind it.
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