Feature- The Airman behind the aircraft

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Emily A. Kenney
  • 49th Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  It's no secret that Holloman is responsible for developing the world's best Remotely Piloted Aircraft enterprise. However, outside of the Ground Control Stations are specialized Airmen who have one primary mission: keeping RPAs maintained and ready for whatever mission comes their way.

One of these Airmen is Senior Airman Daniel Hawley, a tactical aircraft maintainer, otherwise known as a crew chief, with the 49th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

Hawley's job as a crew chief is to make sure that the MQ-9 Reapers are properly maintained for any and every mission, anytime, anyplace.

"I'm responsible for keeping up on any maintenance that has previously been done on an aircraft," said Hawley. "I also keep track of all the paperwork that we need for individual aircraft. Overall, I'm pretty versatile. I'm responsible for just about anything that has to do with the aircraft, besides weapons and avionics."

During his three years at Holloman, the Ohio native has deployed to Afghanistan three times--allowing him to see the effect his job has in the combat Air Force.

"The most rewarding part of my job is seeing the difference we make downrange," said Hawley. "The MQ-9's capabilities are incredible. I never thought an aircraft 30,000 feet in the air would be able to read the name tape of someone that's on the ground. RPAs communicate with the boots on the ground and help send our ground troops back home. So, it's rewarding knowing I'm behind that."

For that reason, Hawley feels it's worth the long, hot hours spent on the Holloman flight line.

In the last few weeks, Holloman has increased RPA training missions by more than 50 percent, which directly impacts Airmen like Hawley.

"We used to only fly three or four lines per day, but now we are flying more like six or seven," said Hawley. "They used to just go up for a few hours and then land, but they've been staying up there for about eight hours lately."

The increase in training missions is part of the Formal Training Unit expansion, which is expected to increase the number of student pilots and sensor operators from 603 to 818 in fiscal year 2016.

Since their arrival at Holloman in 2009, RPAs have dominated airspace with their Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance capabilities.

Similarly, their maintainers have excelled and will continue to thrive at providing high quality maintenance work for whatever mission lies ahead.