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Maintenance Operations Center: 'Eyes and ears of the flightline'

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman John Gordinier
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  At 5 p.m. every duty day, the National Anthem is played throughout Shaw. To most, it signifies the end of the duty day. But to others, it signals the day's just beginning.

Many Air Force organizations do not require coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but some do, including aircraft maintenance operations.

The 20th Maintenance Operations Squadron Maintenance Operations Center tracks the aircraft status 24-7. To do this, MOC personnel work day, swing and mid shifts where they plan, schedule and manage actions for assigned aircraft.

"One of our responsibilities is to accurately record all flying deviations," said Senior Airman William Valentine, 20th MOS MOC controller. A deviation is when an aircraft deviates from the flying schedule, whether it be a late landing or takeoff.

"After we record the deviation, we brief the proper maintenance production supervisor, who is the person in charge of the flying schedule for their squadron," Airman Valentine said. "We brief him at the end of our shift when we compare flying schedules. We want our flying schedule to match his schedule perfectly to make sure the information is accurate and up to date."

It is important the information matches because deviations are not only seen at the squadron level, said Tech. Sgt. Paul Jones, 20th MOS MOC assistant section chief.

"Air Combat Command also gets a bird's eye view of the health of our fleet," he said. "Plus, it shows the effectiveness of our training as it pertains to combat capability. We need to have the most accurate information possible. If the schedules don't match we coordinate with plans and scheduling to correct any errors."

MOC is also the maintenance dispatch and communications hub for flightline activity, said Staff Sgt. Jonathon Pharr, 20th MOS MOC controller.

"We maintain constant monitoring of all transmissions on the radio," Sergeant Pharr said. "Anytime there is a problem on the flightline, such as an aircraft malfunction prior to takeoff, we are informed."

Controllers then dispatch the proper technicians to the aircraft to fix the problem, Sergeant Pharr said.

Once the aircraft is fixed, the technician documents the job in the Core Automated Maintenance System, a computer database that tracks maintenance work on equipment and aircraft, Sergeant Pharr said. The technician inputs information, such as work unit codes, labor hours and corrective actions taken.

"CAMS gives leadership a window to see how we are doing our jobs, how healthy the airplanes are and it may even show trends in maintenance," Sergeant Jones said.

A MOC controller then verifies that the CAMS information received is accurate and correct, Sergeant Pharr said. At a later time, this information is then used to brief ACC, commanders and maintenance officers.

The MOC also operates the crash phone, which is a telephone system used to alert emergency personnel of possible aircraft emergencies.

"After we answer the crash phone, we run through a checklist," Sergeant Jones said. "It is vital that we run the checklist properly. If we don't, lives can be lost. We are the eyes and ears of the flightline. When there is an emergency, we steer unnecessary people away and direct the necessary people to the emergency."

People working in the MOC have different job specialties. Airman Valentine, for example, is a weapons loader.

"I volunteered to do it and I have no regrets," Airman Valentine said. "Sure, I have worked through a few holidays and down days, but there are benefits to my job. I have a much broader perspective and knowledge about maintenance operations.

"Before, when I was a weapons loader, all I knew was how to load munitions. My perspective was limited. Now I know about everything going on with flightline maintenance and how everything works. That's what I enjoy the most about being a MOC controller," he said.