LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. --
Scouring planes, restoring monuments and preserving legacies are some of the integral mission support duties of the 19th Maintenance Squadron Corrosion Control shop.
Stopping the breakdown of aircraft and keeping the C-130J fleet combat ready is the cornerstone of the corrosion control shop.
“Our overall mission is to aid in the prevention of corrosion and deterioration for all assigned Air Mobility Command, Air Education and Training Command and 189th Air National Guard aircraft,” said Tech. Sgt. Matthew Mannion, 19th Maintenance Squadron corrosion control production supervisor. “Our hardworking Airmen are what allow us to accomplish this mission.”
Corrosion control Airmen maintain the C-130Js by keeping them free of rust. They accomplish this by carefully inspecting the aircraft and taking preventative measures, such as redoing or touching up an aircraft’s paint to provide a protective coating against elements which can cause rusting or deterioration to occur.
“We’ll have an engine come in that has to be sanded down, masked off, wiped down, primed and then repainted,” said Senior Airman Wesley Garnes, 19th Maintenance Squadron aircraft structural maintainer.
The work these Airmen do is one of the very first safeguards for aircraft on base. Aircrew rely on corrosion control Airmen doing a good job to be able to properly execute critical operations at a moment’s notice and keep their tactical capabilities at an all-time high.
"There’re a lot of factors up in the sky that can lead to degradation and rusting of the aircraft; from humidity, wind resistance, bird strikes and bad weather,” Garnes said. “There are a lot of things that can damage the paint of an aircraft. All of our paint and repairs help keep that from happening."
The corrosion control Airmen display a strict attention to detail, as well as constantly preserving key assets of Little Rock Air Force Base. Allowing those resources to be implemented effectively.