ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE – It’s more of an ad hoc relationship than a formalized agreement – one put together out of need if not necessity. But the pact is paying big dividends for both parties as the war on terror continues to take its toll on aging but urgently needed aircraft.

Dean Soderberg, C-130 functional test flight chief in the 560th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Robins Air Force Base, freely admits why he asked for help from Air Force Special Operations units.

“About four months ago, we were late on production and these guys have more corporate knowledge of their specific aircraft. They see things in the field we don’t always see – the backups to the backup,” Soderberg said, a broad smile curling across his face. “So we asked them to come here and help us produce airplanes.”

Soderberg’s 47-man unit is charged with prepping C-130s for final operational test flights once the big Lockheed transports have undergone extensive, year-long depot maintenance.

The aircraft must be fully tested before they are returned to their home bases and that testing often reveals tweaks and adjustments that Soderberg’s technicians must make.

All models and configurations of the venerable C-130 come through Robins over time for depot overhaul – about 27 variants – and each must undergo a final, fine-tooth combing by Soderberg’s team. All of the four-engine turboprops are unique, but none are more customized than the small fleet of urgently-needed special operations aircraft – the Combat Talons, the Shadows, the Spears, the Gunships.

That SOF uniqueness often creates additional checkout difficulties. So over the last several months, AFSOC maintainers – 10 to 12 at a time – have worked alongside their Robins counterparts. Some were from Kirtland and Cannon Air Force Bases in New Mexico. Others were from Hurlburt Field, Fla.

The relationship has been a huge success. Soderberg remembers a recent issue with the terrain following radar on a SOF C-130. When the primary radar goes down, the switch to a backup should be automatic. That wasn’t happening and the Robins technicians did not have an immediate answer.

“But the SOF guys work with this system every day,” Soderberg explained, “while we might see it two or three times a year.”

The solution turned out to be simple. “Within 15 minutes, the SOF guy had the problem identified and fixed,” the Robins flight chief reported. “We had somehow fat-fingered one of the numbers.”

The SOF crew also was instrumental in clearing a gunship that had undergone extensive center wing box replacement at Robins. Operation and continuity of the on-board battle management system was a special concern.

“So they brought along a test box that checked everything out,” Soderberg said. “That saved us three weeks on that airplane alone. That helped us and AFSOC, but it also helped the 18 or 19-year-old in a foxhole some place who needs a gunship overhead. After all, they are our ultimate customers.”

Staff Sgt. Jeremiah McCoy, a crew chief from Hurlburt Field, said the value of the Robins visit has run both ways.

“We see things here that we don’t normally see at home,” McCoy said. “That’s especially true with center wing box replacement. Everything is torn apart.”

The fact that aircraft coming out of depot maintenance at Robins have not flown for a year also calls for a different mindset, McCoy concedes.

“The guys here don’t have the luxury of knowing that the aircraft flew yesterday,” said the ten-year Air Force veteran from Kentucky. “So it’s a different pace here and you have to get used to it. But there is a lot of important stuff going on.”

Staff Sgt. Michael Archangel, also from Hurlburt, said he had learned a lot from the Robins team. In fact, the 29-year-old New Mexico native has asked to extend his 30-day stint to 60 days.

“I’m an avionics guy,” he said, “but I’ve been learning about every other specialty. I’ve also had the chance to dive even deeper into the avionics system – down to the wiring. That’s great.”

Master Sgt. Kevin Norman, an AFSOC aircrew trainer at Kirtland, said the Robins experience promotes cross training.

“The regular Air Force is more regimented,” he pointed out. “But here, they can get into systems they wouldn’t normally get into. It makes them better maintainers. There’s 200 to 300 years of C-130 experience here – a lot of people to draw knowledge from.”

Norman said the brief tenure also enhances the image of depots – especially Robins – in the eyes of the special ops maintainers.

“Most of our people don’t know a lot about the depot process,” he conceded. “So we take from here some knowledge on how the work package is broken down – what’s done and why.”

They have also seen Robins technicians go above and beyond to make sure something is correct or operating properly.

“I’ve seen (Robins) guys inspecting something they didn’t have to,” Norman reported. “It wasn’t part of the package but they just wanted to make sure.”

Soderberg said the attitude of his team flows from a keen appreciation for the critical nature of the work being performed. They know, he stressed, that once the aircraft leave Robins they will quickly return to Iraq, Afghanistan or another location – often to remote sites in hostile territory with virtually no margin for error. They know systems must operate as designed or lives will be lost.

“So they go a step above,” he said. “A lot of our guys have been in Special Operations Command so they take extra pride in what they’re doing.”