CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – It took much collaboration and many different moving parts that had to fall into place, but as the Gulfport, Mississippi-based 1108th Theater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance Group (TASMG) begins to wrap up its deployment, it will be able to add one more accolade.
The Mississippi Army National Guard aviation maintenance unit successfully completed a Phase Maintenance Inspection Cycle-1 (PMI) at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, on Sept. 28 and returned the completed aircraft to the 1/137th General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB) at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, two weeks later.
It was a feat that forced the phase team to ensure every piece of the puzzle ended up fitting perfectly.
When Staff Sgt. Joshua Perry, phase team lead, heard about the PMI coming to Camp Arifjan and the possible equipment and part issues, his immediate response was, "There's no task too difficult." That was followed up by his assistant phase team lead, Sgt. Richard Poole saying, "Challenge accepted."
Since their arrival in Kuwait nearly seven months ago, the first aircraft for PMI had finally arrived. This was exciting for the team of mechanics who were eager to put their skill and expertise to the task. "The guys looked like ants on old meat," said Master Sgt. Vernon Dedeaux. "The aircraft was covered from nose to tail in minutes to be disassembled and from there, we were all in."
Prior to the start of the PMI, the phase team had numerous meetings preparing for the upcoming maintenance. Perry knew his team didn't have all the necessary equipment to perform the required maintenance tasks at Camp Arifjan so he coordinated with his production control and maintenance office to acquire the needed equipment from the GSAB. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christopher Clark, 1/137th GSAB Production Control Officer, received the list and began gathering the necessary items to send to the phase team to ensure a successful PMI. The detailed coordination resulted in a seamless transfer of the required aircraft parts from Camp Buehring, allowing the PMI to proceed without delays.
Staff Sgt. Otniel Manzat and Sgt. John Stone, 1/137th GSAB Avionics Technicians, were instrumental in the completion of the phase by expeditiously providing all necessary avionics equipment. They wasted no time in gathering the test equipment and loading them on a Catfish Air flight heading to Camp Arifjan the day after the request went in.
Even with a minor setback during test flight, an Army Ten mile run and a day off, the PMI was completed on time and to the quality everyone expects from the 1108th TASMG.
The successful completion of the PMI can be attributed to successful collaboration between two aviation units on separate bases. Each section functioned exactly as planned with both production control sections communicating their needs to each other and pushing them out to the respective sections.
The phase team concluded its mission with the phrase, "We did it live."