Aircrew flight equipment keeps Airmen safe in the air

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Madelyn Brown
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Safety is a vital proponent for the Air Force to maintain mission continuity and personnel retainment. When flying missions, safety becomes even more important because a misstep or faulty piece of equipment could have life-ending results.

The Air Force has recognized the necessity for safety while maintaining efficiency, and has been able to accomplish this through high-tech safety equipment and proficiently trained Airmen.

The aircrew flight equipment shop is a cross breed between the Air Force's attention to detail in safety measures and the Air Force's unrivaled advancements in technology.

"Our job saves aircrew a lot of time and manpower," said Staff Sgt. Mark Caron, 60th Operations Support Squadron AFE flight equipment NCO in charge. "This can expedite flight mission accomplishment and ensures that everyone arrives safely."

In brief terms, the AFE field encompasses functions that enhance aircrew performance through the proper equipment integration of the human and the aircraft, according to the AFE career field fact sheet.

However, because safety is too broad a topic to remain uncategorized, the shop is sectioned off into flightline, chemical defense, aircrew equipment, parachute, slide/raft and flotation segments. These sections allow for Airmen to become knowledgeable in the different areas of safety through on-the-job training, said Airman 1st Class Lindsy Hall, 60th OSS AFE apprentice trainee.

For Airmen to receive upgrade training in the career field, they must become familiar with the equipment they maintain, issue and instruct others on, by participating in numerous survival, evasion, resistance and escape trainings.

One of the gadgets the shop performs function checks and issues out to aircrew is night vision goggles. For Hall, this piece of equipment is one of the best parts of the job.

"The NVGs have the ability to take in an amazingly small amount of ambient light and amplify it to make your entire surroundings visible," Hall said.

Another development in technology utilized by AFE shops is the combat survival evader locator. Intended for search and rescue missions, the CSEL facilitates recovery forces with locating and communicating with fallen or lost aircrew, Caron said.

Since the career field came into existence about six years ago, the product of a merger between the life support and survival equipment career fields, advancements in technology continue to develop exponentially.

In the near future, the AFE shop can expect to be issuing updated chemical defense gear for aircrew, according to Hall.

"The gear will be updated to fit more comfortably," she said. "This way it's easier to wear for long periods of time while maintaining functionality."

Even parachutes, which have been used in the United States military since World War I, now feature sensors that automatically open the chute at certain altitudes just in case the aircrew member is unconscious and unable to open it manually.

"Our job is important," Caron said. "It's nice to know the equipment works when it could be life or death if it fails. That's when aircrew needs it the most."