Multitask-capable flying crew chiefs are key to keeping the highly used C-130s flying in Southwest Asia. “We need to know everything, including engines, navigation, electrical, hydraulics, and fuels,” SrA. Christopher Sutton, an Air Force Reserve Command crew chief from Pennsylvania, told Air Force journalist Maj. Ann Knabe. Another AFRC maintainer, SMSgt. Edward Rife, said, “Fortunately, C-130s are extremely reliable,” but, he added, when they do break, the flying chiefs “come to the rescue.”
The Air Force displayed all the firepower it has amassed on Okinawa in an unusually diverse show of force this week. IIn a May 6 “Elephant Walk,” Kadena Air Base showcased 24 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters, eight F-15E Strike Eagles; two U.S. Army Patriot anti-missile batteries near the runway; and…