Aircraft metals technology course opens with a spark

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Adawn Kelsey
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Sparks flew during the aircraft metals technology course relocation ribbon cutting ceremony Feb. 25 as Brig. Gen. Darryl Burke, 82nd Training Wing commander, used a torch to cut through a chain during the ceremony.

The 361st Training Squadron course was moved from the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., where it was a Sheppard detachment, to Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decision.

After the appropriately unusual ribbon cutting, General Burke gave the students encouragement and some words of wisdom.

"It is amazing what you do on a day-to-day basis," the general said. "You folks are entering into a career field that you can be very proud of. We are going to count on you to do what you do every day to keep these airplanes in the air. I will be counting on you every day to take care of these planes and our Air Force."

Tech. Sgt. Tim Newcomb, 361st TRS aircraft metals technology instructor, said the Airmen will use the information they learn in the course at their next unit and in deployed environments.

"Airmen do the same job here as they do in a deployed environment," he said. "We also have instructors who have gone to Afghanistan to teach the Afghan military about metals technology."

Sergeant Newcomb said the students learn how to machine and weld aircraft parts and use metals such as aluminum, stainless steel and titanium.

"The students will use their training to fix or repair aerospace ground equipment or machine parts in a back shop," he said. "The Airmen will also be capable of doing things like removing stuck hardware or making fabricated bushings."

The course is taught over a span of 96 academic days and features nine blocks of instruction to teach Airmen the basics of aircraft metals technology. The course is on track for graduating 270 Airmen each year; the first class is scheduled to graduate April 14.

The building that holds the course occupies was dedicated to retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Duane Hackney. Chief Hackney was the most decorated Airman in Air Force history, receiving 28 decorations for valor in combat with over 70 awards total.