photo essay

The 19th Maintenance Squadron is the world’s largest C-130 unit composed of approximately 1,800 Airman and civilians working around the clock in a variety of global combat airlift missions, and without the help of the 19th Component Maintenance Squadron Centralized Repair Facility’s none of that would be possible. Engines are dismantled and propellers are stripped here before being thoroughly inspected and rigorously tested before flight. The work this shop carries out is imperative to the Combat Airlift mission. Without engines and props the C-130 mission would not get off the ground. The 19th CMS abilities stretch beyond the mission here at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. Some of the engines worked on at the 19th CMS’ are completely disassembled for inspection then rebuilt, inspected again and returned to Air Force Special Operation Command where it will be used on specialized mission aircraft.