New moves for maintenance

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Thousands of enlisted airmen will be in different squadrons, sewing on new patches if they wear old uniforms and answering to different group commanders. Staff Sgt. Steven Socia, a weapons loader assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, secures a Joint Direct Attack Munition to an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Balad Air Base, Iraq.


New moves for maintenance
By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jun 2, 2008 7:14:13 EDT

Beginning in July, the Air Force will undergo a massive reorganization, and tens of thousands of airmen will move to new squadrons, answer to new commanders and, if they’re officers and senior enlisted airmen, take on new responsibilities.

Crew chiefs, flightline maintainers and weapons loaders for fighter, bomber and combat search-and-rescue wings will move from maintenance squadrons to operations squadrons, coming under the command of pilots.

Their maintenance groups will be dissolved, and a new organization — materiel groups — will absorb thousands more airmen.

Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley approved the move to the “Global Wing Structure” on May 12 after months of discussions between the Air Staff and major commands. It reverses many of the changes implemented in the last huge restructuring, in 2002, when crew chiefs and maintainers moved out of flying squadrons and into maintenance groups so maintainers could worry about keeping planes in the sky and flying squadron commanders could focus on training and missions.

All active-duty and Reserve wings must have these changes in place by Nov. 30:


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/06/airforce_maintenance_reorg_060108w/