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Metals Technology technicians weld mission together

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Alexis Siekert
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Working on everything from aircraft to underground equipment, the 51st Maintenance Squadron aircraft metals technology shop accomplishes a variety of metal work throughout the base.

"Our job is a combination of on-aircraft work and in-shop fabrication," said Senior Airman Jared Callaham, 51st Maintenance Squadron aircraft metals technology journeyman. "The fabrication work is a combination of two civilian fields: machining and welding."

The shop keeps busy by creating useful products for different organizations on Osan. Some of the work done by the shop includes creating hard to get tools or making tools sized uniquely for each aircraft.

"The on-aircraft work a lot of the time incorporates things that will accompany the fabricated work, such as precision measurement and jobs like bushing, installation or smaller maintenance jobs on the aircraft," he said.

Some of the equipment used by the technicians includes welding, grinding, a mill and a lathe.

"Our equipment allows us to measure down to less than a third of the width of a piece of paper, so we can measure pretty accurately," said Senior Airman Henry Foradory, 51st Maintenance Squadron aircraft metals technology journeyman.

Foradory also explained how the team is able to fix various parts in need of metal work such as weapons, parts, ground equipment and aircraft, yet they are out on the flightline providing maintenance work daily.

"What's really cool about my job for me is being able to bring a level of creativity and craftsmanship to the work," Callaham said. "Somebody will bring us a blueprint or an idea for something they need and we'll have to turn that into a reality. At the end of the day, you leave knowing that when you came to work it was a piece of metal and when you left, it was something that was going to be useful to the Air Force."