AETC Activates First Civil Service Maintenance Group

Air Education and Training Command activated its first civil service aircraft maintenance organization during a Feb. 10 ceremony at JBSA-Randolph, Texas. The 12th Maintenance Group was previously a directorate. “The Air Force organizes in wings, groups, and squadrons so everything revolves around those types of units. We can officially take our place next to the 12th Operations Group and the 479th and the 306th Flying Training Groups instead of being a block of 600 manning positions on the wing staff,” said Robert West, the group director, in a release. West said the reorganization, which he and his team worked on for six years, comes at a time when Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein is focused on rebuilding squadrons. “It works right into the Chief’s plan. We were really tired of being a square peg in a round hole,” he said.