MOC Airmen provide flightline coverage during flying season

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Miguel Lara III
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Spring has arrived and traffic on the flightline builds as the Iceman Team prepares for Distant Frontier and RED FLAG-Alaska season.

While maintenance Airmen are highly visible working on aircraft, it's one maintenance unit's transparency that keeps the mission on the tarmac going smoothly.

The 354th Maintenance Group maintenance operations center members work three shifts to coordinate and monitor maintenance production and flying schedules 24-hours-a-day, five days a week.

"We are the focal point for everything that happens or has to do with any aircraft or its equipment," said Tech. Sgt. Matthew Niemi, a 354th MXG MOC senior controller.  "We communicate all activity between the flightline and the back shops."

The MOC is considered a type of special duty where Airmen are assigned for two years.  The MOC is mainly composed of personnel with a maintenance or scheduling background.  This is especially important for understanding the language and communicating with an expeditor on the flightline.

"It helps out a lot being a crew chief here because constantly you are hearing or calling MOC or statuses," said Niemi.  "We already know what they are going through on the other side. We've been there, so the communication flows easier."

The MOC acts as a command post for the fightline.  While it is responsible for the maintainers it also supports the wing as a whole by ensuring the mission is accomplished without injury or loss of life and equipment.

"During emergencies we coordinate between all required base agencies and first responders," said Niemi. "The safety of all personnel and equipment on the flightline is the key to a successful mission."

Eielson can potentially support up to 10 additional squadrons and 100 aircraft on the flightline during RED FLAG-Alaska.  This can create complex operations since MOC members work side-by-side with different service components as well as foreign partners.

"We have language barriers to overcome at times--with the foreign partners.  The other service branches do things differently as well," Niemi said. "But we are able to integrate and show how we operate because it's not always universal."

For many participating units, having a MOC at home station is not an option.  This is an opportunity for those units to see how they can take this experience and introduce it to their home units.

"We don't have MOC back home, so coming here is very new," said Master Corporal Dominic LaPorte, 425th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force. "It is very crucial to have one place to get all of the information to and from the maintainers.  Working here is very good and we plan to take this and incorporate it in our exercises back home."