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U.S. Air Force

Maintenance Squadrons

The crew chiefs, avionics techs, and engine mechanics who generate every sortie the Air Force flies. Pilots get the glory. Maintenance makes it possible. The jet does not fly unless they say it flies.

Maintenance
Explore Maintenance Squadrons
MXS / AMXS / MXG / Crew Chiefs
Making Airpower Happen Est. 1907
MAINTENANCE
2A AFSCs
Maintenance Squadrons
Crew Chiefs / Avionics / Engines / Weapons
2A
Maintenance AFSCs
AMU
Aircraft Maint Unit
Sortie
Generation
MC Rate
MISSION CAPABLE
Maintenance squadrons generate every sortie the Air Force flies. Crew chiefs own the aircraft, performing preflight inspections, launch, recovery, and postflight servicing. Avionics technicians troubleshoot radar, navigation, and weapons systems. Engine mechanics keep turbines running. Weapons loaders arm the aircraft. Aircraft Maintenance Units are organized under Maintenance Group commanders and aligned to specific flying squadrons. Mission capable rates live and die with maintenance. Read more
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Flightline to Forward Deploy 1941 - Present
CREW CHIEF
OWN THE JET
The Crew Chief
The Backbone of the Flightline
Dedicated
Crew Chief
Launch
And Recovery
All Weather
12-Hour Shifts
Pride
NAME ON THE JET
The dedicated crew chief is the single person responsible for an aircraft. Their name is painted on the jet below the canopy. They know every quirk, every write-up history, and every system on that specific tail number. Crew chiefs work 12-hour shifts on the flightline in every weather condition. They launch aircraft at 0400 in the dark and recover them at midnight. The pilot trusts the crew chief with their life every time they strap in. That trust is earned daily. Read more
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DEPLOYED MX
OIF / OEF
Deployed Maintenance
Generating Sorties in Combat
Surge
Maximum Sorties
FOD
Foreign Object Damage
Desert
Sand and Heat
Sortie
GENERATION RATE
Deployed maintenance operations during OIF and OEF pushed sortie generation to limits never seen in peacetime. Maintainers worked in 130-degree heat on concrete flightlines, turning aircraft between combat missions in hours instead of days. Sand infiltrated everything. FOD prevention was constant. Avionics shops ran 24/7 fixing battle damage and degraded systems. The surge sortie rates that commanders demanded were only possible because maintenance delivered. Read more
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2A
Maintenance AFSCs
AMU
Aircraft Maint Unit
Sortie
Generation
MC
Mission Capable Rate