Soldiers from Co. B, 602nd ASB keep their helicopters flying

CAMP HUMPHREYS, Republic of Korea - In aviation maintenance, attention to detail and discipline are key in keeping an aircraft flying smoothly. It is not always an easy task having so many moving pieces in play, but Soldiers from Company B, 602nd Aviation Support Battalion, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, are up to the challenge.

The Soldiers from Co. B. are dedicated to their work and provide high-level maintenance, which is needed so pilots can successfully perform their missions.

"What we have here is a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter; the aircraft encountered a hard landing and the impact was so hard that it had to be brought in," said Sgt. Karl Amundsen, a UH-60 helicopter repairer in Co. B. "We had to get in a civilian structural team to come and repair much of the airframe. Once they were done we worked on taking all the components off and aircraft parts, inspected everything and now we're rebuilding from the ground up and reinstalling everything, so that it would be ready to fly."

As helicopter repairers, some of the things they look for while inspecting an aircraft are checking to see if the airframe has cracks, is stressed, dented or pulled. They also check the body panel and look for damaged electronics.

"We look for parts that are not supposed to be on the aircraft; after a certain length of time, you have to replace it," said Pfc. Scott Seither, a UH-60 helicopter repairer with Co. B. "The reason we do this kind of inspection is not to catch things that are bad, but it's to catch things that start to go bad so we can replace it before something bad happens."

Seither spoke about his personal experience with this aircraft.

"We started this whole thing when we got it pulled in the hanger," he said. "I was here, brand new in Korea, and when we got it, it was with parts that were shattered, metal that was sheared off. This thing really did a number to itself. Then seeing it being broke down the way it was and then seeing it being built back up, it's amazing for me."

The Soldiers are constantly on the move in their workspace, finding problems to solve and fixing them.

"This job is always challenging, always something new," Amundsen said. He explained that sometimes they find something that needs to be fixed on the tail rotor, and other times, they'll find things that need to be fixed on the main rotor. "It's all part of making sure the aircraft is one-hundred percent mission capable."

The leadership ensures the Soldiers know and understand their roles as helicopter repairers.

"The key thing that we're trying to instill in our Soldiers in aviation is that it's very important to have discipline and attention to detail," Amundsen said. "Without it, these aircrafts wouldn't fly the way they need to fly and accomplish missions that need to be accomplished safely."