Ready to rush

By Corporal Simone Liebelt

CPL Phillip Mills, from the base barrier crew, shows US Marine aircraft recovery specialist CPL Joey Morlock the rewind cable on the barrier system.

Photo by CPL Simone Liebelt

IF a crash alarm sounds during Exercise Southern Frontier, the first thing to rush is the adrenaline of the barrier crew on stand-by at RAAF Base Tindal.

Together with a US Marine counterpart, the four mechanical specialists drop everything to race out to the airfield and provide assistance as part of the base emergency response procedure, known as a PAN (possible assistance needed).

A PAN is activated by the control tower when an incoming aircraft indicates it may require assistance on landing. For a Hornet, a safety barrier cable is raised on the runway to help stop the jet if the brakes don’t work on touchdown.

Just like on an aircraft carrier, the F/A-18 will hook the cable and come to a quick stop.

As part of the exercise, two US Marine aircraft recovery specialists have deployed from the Marine Wing Support Squadron in Iwakuni, Japan, to support their own Hornets. They have been working alongside their Aussie peers at the Mechanical Engineering Operational Maintenance Section on base.

Barrier crewmember Corporal Phillip Mills said the young Marines have been a valuable and enthusiastic addition to their team.

“The guys are great, they love to learn and are very adaptable to different situations,” he said. “A lot of the time you’ll ask them to give you a hand with something and they’ll just jump in, no problem.

“Their system in Japan is slightly different to ours; a lot of the engine parts are the same but the barrier cable rewind system is different. They don’t have the cable raise up and down the same as us, but they see the principle of how it works and they’ve picked it up quickly.

“I think maybe they’ve been held back a bit, because the Marines specialise in certain areas, so we encourage them to come out with us on our servicings as well so they can learn a bit better. They fit in really well.”

He said if the PAN was for a US Hornet, the Marine acts as a liaison with his pilot once the aircraft takes the cable. But that isn’t discovered until they reach the scene.

“When the alarm goes off, you know there is an emergency of some sort, but you don’t know if the aircraft will take the cable until you get out there,” he said.

“If it does, we wait for the fire marshal to give us the all clear and then a couple of members will control the rewind unit while another goes to the aircraft to release the cable. The person who is the aircraft controller, which could be either US or RAAF, will usually give directions to the pilot for this.”

He said while he’s been in the business a long time, it can still get the old adrenaline pumping.

“I’ve been doing this for many years now so I’m a bit blasé about it, but it can be a real buzz for many people, because when an aircraft takes the cable it can be very specky, especially at night when it sparks.

“Depending on the situation, there can be a build-up of adrenaline, because there might be ordnance on the aircraft, or it might not have been able to dump all its fuel, so you don’t know what’s going to happen [when it lands].”

During the next month, barrier crews will be supporting Exercise Southern Frontier around the clock, with all-night flying scheduled for coming weeks.

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