Enduring the sands of time: 7,000 days in the AOR

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class David Dobrydney
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  If seven is considered a lucky number, 7,000 must be very lucky. 

The 55th Wing from Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., has had their personnel and RC-135V/W aircraft deployed in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility every day for the past 7,000 days. 

"To reach 7,000 days deployed continuously in the AFCENT theater is a testament to the hard work, commitment and pride of 55th Wing Airmen," said Brig. Gen. John N.T. Shanahan, 55th Wing commander. "It is an incredible milestone as there are few other units in our service who can match that record. The sacrifices of our aircrews, maintainers and their families over the past 19 years is truly remarkable."

Code named "Rivet Joint," the RC-135 is a reconnaissance aircraft supporting theater and national-level consumers with near real-time on-scene intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities. 

"We specifically are [monitoring] to what is happening in the battlefield environment," said Lt. Col. Richard Linehan, 763rd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron commander, who is responsible for the oversight of Rivet Joint operations. The information gathered by the Rivet Joint is combined with the visual intelligence collected by other platforms to provide the full spectrum of the situation on the ground. 

Rivet Joint aircraft were first deployed Aug. 9, 1990, to take part in Operation Desert Storm and have since played a role in every Central Command operation. Colonel Linehan has worked with Rivet Joint his entire 18-year career and first deployed with them in 1994. He's no stranger to milestones. In 1995, as a young co-pilot, he participated in the 1,000th Rivet Joint sortie in the AOR. 

"It's quite an honor to be out here for this length of time and be part of the historical significance of the squadron," he said. 

Almost all of the members of the 55th Aircraft Maintenance Unit and the 763th ERS deploy from the 55th Wing, with a few, such as Captain Knight, deploying from tenant units in England or Japan. As both personnel and aircraft rotate between the AOR and Offutt, the maintainers of the 55th AMU are always standing by to keep the Rivet Joint ready to go. 

"A lot is done once the aircraft lands," said Tech. Sgt. Dwight Herrick, an aircraft electrical and environmental systems craftsman for the 55th AMU. "We'll service it, do our pre-flight inspections, fuel it, and repair any issues," he said. "Realistically, we try to have them ready to go in about eight to 12 hours. If necessary, we can have it ready in three hours." 

Sergeant Herrick has worked with the RJs for the past 10 years and is currently on his fourth deployment with this aircraft. He remembered one of his previous deployments which took place during the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. 

"We had a very high-ops tempo through that. We were there until the airstrikes were over and then we closed down our operations and moved [to Southwest Asia]." 

Most of the Rivet Joint maintainers and operators have been with the airframe their entire careers. 

"We have very few people who are out here on their first deployment," Colonel Linehan said, "and if they are, it's because they're brand new Airmen who are well on their way to their second and third deployment." 

"It's pretty amazing and it's a good feeling to be with an aircraft so long and watch all the different changes through the years," Sergeant Herrick said. Changes have made his job as a maintainer easier. "[Improvements] give the operators a more reliable product and give us an easier 'quick-turn' rate," he said. 

One of those upgrades included replacing analog cockpit instrument panels with a digital "glass cockpit" model. Sergeant Herrick also mentioned the change to a carbon fiber-based braking system. "We see fewer problems now with brake wear and leaking," he said. "That used to be a common problem. We changed brakes almost every day." 

The fact that the maintenance and operations personnel come from the same home station is key to the unit's continued effectiveness. "A lot of us know each other," Colonel Linehan said, "so the cooperation we have with maintenance is fantastic. We count on them each and every day." 

Colonel Linehan noted some changes of his own, mainly in the length of deployments. He said in the past, personnel would deploy here for 60 or 90 days. The group of Airmen here now is the first to be deployed for 120 days. He added he is just the second 763th ERS commander to be deployed for a full year. "That is a big change in terms of the continuity that we can provide to the squadron," he said. 

Colonel Linehan also noted the greater recognition the Rivet Joint has been given as an intelligence-gathering tool. "It's an ISR war," he said, "and the importance of our platform in the grand scheme of things has only grown over the years." 

And through 7,000 days and beyond, the Rivet Joint shall remain true to its motto of being "always on the hunt." 

"The commitment shows just how critical our mission is to national security," General Shanahan said. "Even as we highlight the 19 years of continuous deployment, it is important to note that we don't see an end in sight. The men and women of the Fightin' Fifty-Fifth will continue to be an integral part of ongoing combat operations around the globe."