Loadmaster Question----Viet Nam era

[tinwhistle]

This thread is bringing back an awfully lot of memories. I'd forgotten how tired I was most of the time (this all refers to "in country"), as well as remembering, now, all the various terms, and equipment we worked with. Seems as if I may not have known then what a type of job was called, just did it. One of the old guys I remember the clearest was a SGT. Middleton, don't remember his exact rank, but he couldn't bend his arm he had so many stripes. I think his job title was "Line Chief"? Does that sound familiar to anyone? Anyway he was the guy who made sure all us 2 stripers were there when a Herk landed. One hell of a good man and taught us more than he ever realized. By the way, it was his 3rd war! If you go to my gallery, he is in the picture with the jeep. Thanks for the memories Chris

[gizzard]

tinwhistle, it seems to me that many of us young pups were exposed to some really great older NCO's and did not realize, at least at the time, just what great lessons they were teaching us. Beyond a doubt, the best man I ever worked for, besides my dad, was CMS CHarles Regi. It was many years down the rod before I realized just what all I had gained from my AF experience

giz

[Spectre623]

Hey Mike you asked where the crew chiefs were hiding while you were rigging you bird at all those E model bases you were TDY to? They were hiding in the same place you were when we (maint) were rigging the bird at home base. You weren't required to come out from ops or while you were in crew rest to help the maint team rig, were you? Well we weren't required to come out and stop working on our own planes to help a TDY crew re-rig their plane . It just didn't work that way...wasn't designed to work like that. If you were TDY at a base that had en-route support you might get help rigging your bird if it was supporting that base or was a priority mission otherwise you and your crew was responsible for re-rigging your bird. Maint was given fuel load, configuration and take off time on the flying schedule and that was when maint rigged the bird, after take off it was your baby. As far as the CC flying with the bird from home station there were 10,000 reasons that ops and maint would or would not have a CC fly. As far as CC's flying with their bird in country,the CC and asst CC would fly into VN, usually ending at CRB or TSN (depending on what model you were on,) and split up into 12 hour shifts to keep their bird OR. If you flew with your bird in-country (which I did sometimes) you were flying on your off time. When the plane landed back at CRB you still had to pull your 12 hour shift. When your bird was OR (usually by 0200-0300hrs) you could stay and try to sleep on the bug infested plane till the flt crew arrived or go back to the CC shack next to maint control where you were subject to being put with a crew rigging or refueling other planes. Until a CC had put in 12 hours there was no consideration for him to rest. AF considered him a hazard after 12 hours and then he was supposed to get rest.....but who went by that rule? ha ha. Bill :)

Edited September 17, 2011 by Spectre623

[Mt.crewchief]

Bill, you have a key word in your post-----Crew Rest!!!!

Did you ever hear of Crew Chief Rest????

Ken

[BobWoods]

The way I remember it is the crew chief didn't get crew rest because he didn't have in-flight duties.

[EClark]

Bob you are right and did see any crew chief complain we did are job and was proud of it like landing in DaNang with a flat tire and staying with the plane all night to keep some body from steeling everthing on it!

[BobWoods]

Yes I did hear some bitching from the CC's but they were few and far between. Not so much in SEA but on European rotes, yes

[Spectre623]

Bob, you know that old AF saying" If they ain't bitchin',they ain't happy"...I think the Wright brothers might have started that when they landed after the first flight and headed to the club and left the crew chief on the plane to straighten the mess up and rerig it and with no transportation. Bill :)

[Mt.crewchief]

Bill, will you quit messing with my CRS!! I can't count the number of times I went to some real neat/interesting countries/places and all I got to see was a Trans. Alert truck, and fuel truck, and my airplane while everybody else went downtown shopping or whatever!!

I also remember the words " hey chief, want a sandwich or something to eat" as the crew and passengers hopped on their transportation to places I never did get to see!!! I guess that is called bitching but that is the way it was!!! Being fair though. I do remember a trip or two that the flight crews took me with them. I also spent several nights with the whole crew at Misawa one time! Of course, I repaid the crew by helping the Loadmaster "short-sheet" the AC's bed!!!

You know, I could have stayed back at CCK and let somebody else take my airplane, but that would have been like loaning your only prized possession to somebody!!

Enough of my crap for now,

Ken