CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
A Charleston Airman became the first aerial port member to be able to apply power to an active C-17 Oct. 17 on the Charleston AFB flightline.
Tech. Sgt. Brian Abraham, 437th Aerial Port Squadron "Port Dawg" University instructor, is one of only 2 aerial porters in the entire Air Force qualified to apply power to a C-17. The other is Tech. Sgt. Patricia McClure, 437 APS combat readiness instructor.
Ramp service Airmen from the 437 APS needed the power on in order to load a C-17 that was transiting the base from McChord AFB, Wash. However, no one was available at the moment to apply the power. Sergeant Abraham responded to the call on the flightline because Sergeant McClure was teaching a class at the time and was unavailable.
"The teamwork and 'can do' attitude of the aerial port and maintenance Airmen made this paradigm shift and historic milestone possible," said Maj. Chad Morris, 437 APS acting commander. "Everyone has the right focus -- expediting processes to turn jets faster resulting in an overall increase of system velocity. Team Charleston continues to lead the command with innovative thinking and a mission focus."
"It's fun to be the first one able to do something," said Sergeant Abraham. "It's great. It's the next step in our career field and for where we're going next."
The two Charleston Airmen completed the Aerial Port Expeditor Program external power course Oct. 12 at Charleston AFB. They completed the 18-hour course specifically designed for aerial porters. Normally, maintainers were the only ones taught and qualified to apply power to an aircraft.
"They did exceptional ... they did a great job," said Tech. Sgt. Matthew Virtue, 437th Maintenance Operations Squadron Maintenance Training Qualification Program instructor and the instructor for the two 437 APS Airmen. "At first I was skeptical, but as the course went on, I felt more confident of their skills and abilities. I'm proud of what they have accomplished."
This course officially be added to the APEX Program once it is finished being tested to save money for the Air Force by saving time for loadmasters and maintainers. APEX was a three-week course initiated last October at Charleston AFB to teach and allow aerial porters to on- and off-load all types of cargo without the presence of a loadmaster.
"We were picked for this course because Sergeant Abraham and I are the primary instructors and evaluators for the APEX Program," said Sergeant McClure. "We hope to get about eight to 10 more Airmen through this course in the next two months."
The APEX Program is open to aerial porters from other Air Mobility Command bases. Right now, the new part of the program is being tested and is only open to Charleston Airmen at the moment. The program will be tested for about a year and will be presented and reviewed at the APEX conference at Charleston AFB this December.
"This new course is great because trying to coordinate with maintenance for when we could load was very difficult with the different schedules everyone has," said Sergeant McClure. "Now, this frees them up to be able to fix other aircraft and it enables us to load when we need to -- even eight to 10 hours prior to takeoff."
Before this program began, maintenance Airmen had to be called upon to apply power to a C-17 and wait while aerial porters loaded the jet. Much of this waiting was unproductive time. This new initiative will allow critical maintenance manning to be channeled toward fixing other aircraft, thereby improving mission capability and readiness.
In addition, Sergeants Abraham and McClure, friends and co-workers, agreed that it's been a great opportunity to be the first aerial porters in history capable of applying power to a C-17.
"It's great that he got to do it first, but I'm still jealous," joked Sergeant McClure. "He had to call me right away about it too."
The two have been stationed together at Charleston for the past six years.