49th CMS aircraft fuels shop moves into new hangar

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Isaiah Pedrazzini
  • 49th Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  The 49th Component Maintenance Squadron fuels shop started the new year with a change of scenery after moving their base of operations to a newer and larger hangar.

The transition from Hangar 868 to Hangar 565 allowed all members of the fuels shop to consolidate into a single location that was explicitly designed and upgraded to enable their mission of providing fuels resupply and maintenance to the 49th Wings fleet of F-16 Vipers.

“Our previous fuel system repair building wasn't originally designed for the F-16 and couldn't house our support section,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Dwane Parmelee, 49th CMS fuels systems repair section noncommissioned officer in charge. “However, it was the only pre-existing building that met our standards for fuel systems repair at the time.”

The transition to a larger hangar allows the Airmen to enhance their capabilities within the fuel shop. However, outside support was needed to assist in the transition to the new workspace.

“Our new facility met the space requirements needed for us to work, but it didn't meet any of our fuel system requirements per our technical orders,” said Parmelee. “We worked hand-in-hand with the 49th Civil Engineer Squadron and 49th Contracting Squadron and provided them with the technical references they needed to retrofit the hangar to meet our standards.”

While the new work area provided a marked increase in the Airmen’s ability to complete their mission, the process of conducting their day-to-day operations while transitioning between two locations provided its own set of challenges.

“We were able to knock it out,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Adam Houle, 49th CMS F-16 Viper fuels craftsman. “Despite transitioning through shops, we continued to hold our Airmen to a high standard where no one comes here and is confused on what their mission is going to be for the day.”

The Airmen from the 49th CMS fuels shop have demonstrated an outstanding work ethic and professionalism during their switch to the new hangar.

“The Airmen that we have here in this shop are phenomenal,” stated Houle. “It doesn't matter what you put in front of our people, we're gonna be a team, we're gonna be a unit and we're gonna get the job done.”