RSAF SNCO earns 364th TRS E&E top grad award

  • Published
  • By Dan Hawkins
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Chief Master Sgt. Muftah Alessa of the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) became the second RSAF SNCO to be named top graduate of the 364th Training Squadron's Electrical and Environmental Systems apprentice course during a ceremony here Dec. 7.

Alessa, who is stationed at King Abdullah Air Base, located just off the Red Sea in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, maintained a 99 percent average for the course.

"Chief Alessa did a great job throughout the course," said Maj. Brian Clark, 364th TRS director of operations. "Students like him make instructors lives a whole lot easier."

Master Sgt. Abdulaziz Alotaibi was the first RSAF student to accomplish the feat, graduating at the top of his E&E class back in January of this year.

Col. David Murphy, 782nd Training Group commander, spoke about the importance of continuing to develop the Air Force's partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through training.

"(Training) is where the rubber meets the road," the colonel said. "Our partnership with the Kingdom is a vital, strategic relationship and our training helps strengthen the teamwork we already have with the Royal Saudi Air Force."

During his remarks in the ceremony, Murphy congratulated the chief on his accomplishment of graduating at the top of the class and related the importance of aircraft maintainers to the mission through a personal story about his time helping enforce the southern no-fly zone over Iraq while flying F-16 Fighting Falcons during Operation SOUTHERN WATCH back in 1995.

"It was the maintainers who worked the long hours making sure we could fly our sorties," Col. Murphy said. "(Maintainers) always worked the hardest coming up with innovative solutions to solve the most complex problems...You now have the 'stick' to go out to the Air Force and help solve these problems too."

Alessa, who has been in the United States for approximately ten months after receiving English language instruction at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, prior to beginning training at Sheppard, received a personal letter of congratulations for being the top graduate from Lt. Col. Monica Madero, 364th TRS commander and a 782nd TRG coin from Murphy during the ceremony.

The electrical and environmental apprentice course provides training in the knowledge and skills needed to perform maintenance on aircraft electrical and environmental systems.

Aircraft familiarization, maintenance and inspection systems, corrosion control, direct current principles, alternating current electronics and maintenance basics are taught during the course.

The course also includes lessons on the Air Force technical order system, flightline safety, aircraft forms, maintenance data collection, troubleshooting techniques, and wiring schematics and diagrams. 

There is also instruction on power generation, landing gear and warning systems, lighting, flight controls and cargo door systems, environmental systems and utility and oxygen systems.

The 364th Training Squadron is the Air Force's most diverse training squadron, developing and conducting operational training for 3,700 Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine, Department of Defense civilians and international military students in aircraft systems, electrical and environmental, hydraulics, POL fuels and the telecommunications career fields.