Brig. Gen. Russell Ponder, National Guard Bureau director of logistics and installations, and Brig. Gen. Richard Gibbs, Air Mobility Command director of logistics, engineering and force protection, visited Airmen of the 157th Maintenance Group, Sept. 9, at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, New Hampshire.
The generals spoke with Airmen about the maintenance requirements of the new KC-46A.
Ponder also took time to recognize Master Sgt. Jake Dipold and Master Sgt. Aaron Marceau and provided them with his personal challenge coin for the successful execution of the Wing’s KC-135 divestitures from January-March 2019.
Pease crew chiefs and other specialist maintainers provided the generals with a tour of the KC-46A Pegasus air refueling tanker, showcasing a number of the plane’s features and capabilities, including the flight deck, the air refueling operator station and the cargo area.
The tour ended with a presentation by Tech. Sgt. Andrew Morrison and Staff Sgt. John Woodward. They showcased in-house designed and 3-D printed plastic tools that have the potential to save the Air Force hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands of man hours by preventing damage to the aircraft skin and floor panels.
The generals and Wing support team boarded an Army National Guard HH-60 Black Hawk helicopter to fly to Pease, where Wing leadership concluded the day with a tour of the base.
The Wing is temporarily operating its air refueling mission out of the civilian airport in Manchester while the runway at the Pease International Airport undergoes renovations scheduled from Sept. 8-22.