AMC AVIATION MAINTENANCE SAFETY AWARD
92d AIR REFUELING WING
Fairchild Air Force Base, WA
By Staff Writer
THE 92d AIR REFUELING WING (92 ARW), Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB), WA, has been announced as the winner of the Air Mobility Command (AMC) Aviation Maintenance Safety Award for 2022.
The team executed a pilot Aviation Maintenance Safety Program within the Air Force’s largest tanker operation, which includes a $4.5 billion fleet of 69 aircraft while demonstrating the Major Command model. They developed the first-ever proactive Aviation Maintenance Safety Program and aligned the AMC test program with the Air Force Safety Center-level vision.
These proactive safety professionals introduced the Maintenance Group to Operations Risk Assessment and Management System, Line Operations Safety Audit, Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) lessons and executed 22,600 flight hours with zero Class A or B mishaps.
The team bolstered a major accident response exercise and applied maintenance expertise and safety training as Interim Safety Board members. Not only did they coordinate with flying crew chief management for hot-pit refueling operations, but also reasserted aircraft parking areas and danger zones, which decreased aircraft generation time by 70 percent. The team supported the Air Force Chief of Staff’s top priorities by certifying safe practices between three groups for aircraft hot-pit refueling, which was a first in AMC and strengthened the wing in support of Agile Combat Employment capabilities.
Forging Operations Group and Maintenance Group communications, the 92 ARW organized crosstalk for quarterly operations safety and training days to foster safety practices for 450 aircrew and 1,500 maintenance members. By revamping fall protection training, they unified Occupational and Flight Safety programs for 20 total force squadron representatives and supported 15 years with zero Class A, B, or C on-duty occupational mishaps.
They safeguarded the wing’s U.S. Strategic Command Operations Plan 801X mission by creating built-in safety observer training for Titan Fury and Global Thunder exercises. Together, they honed the Stripes-on-the-Line effort by integrating experienced leaders with daily maintenance tasks and codified safety topics into mentorship programs. As the mishap response subject matter experts, the team also led review and root-cause analyses for 42 events and armed 1,500 maintenance personnel with vital proactive safety skills.