Local university donates rare training parts to Barksdale

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. – Tech. Sgt. Mauricio Aguirre, 372nd Training Squadron Detachment 5, and Mr. Dave Fogelman, Southern University at Shreveport, help relocate B-52 training panels from the downtown Shreveport airport to base. The donated panels will be cleaned and ready for use by the 372nd Training Squadron Detachment 5 by Dec. 1. (Courtesy photo)

Local university donates rare training parts to Barksdale

Published Oct. 1, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Terri Barriere
2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- Shreveport Southern University recently donated rare B-52H parts to the 372nd Training Squadron here.

The 372nd TRS will use the donated parts as training aids for aircraft maintenance training for Air Force Global Strike Command's B-52 Stratofortress crew chiefs.

"These trainers are priceless to the B-52 community, and the fact that we acquired them for free ... it's a huge thing," said Tech. Sgt. Michael Hollister, a training instructor at the 372nd TRS who happened to spot the parts sitting idle at the Shreveport maintenance hangar.

"It was one of those situations where someone said, 'wow that would be really cool to have' ... and someone else said ... 'why can't we?'" he said. "The trainers were just sitting there, dusty, but perfectly usable."

Sergeant Hollister said the newly donated trainers were produced more than 50 years ago, when the B-52s were initially created.

Parts like those donated by the university are invaluable, he said. The parts cannot be ordered or recreated. "It's like striking oil in your own backyard."

The sergeant said receiving the new training parts will significantly improve mission effectiveness because it helps to have hands-on training, rather than looking at pictures in a book.

"When you're looking at a book, you don't get a three-dimensional view," said Tech. Sgt. Kevin Rowe, Det. 5 flight chief. "A lot of the parts we're able to see with the trainers aren't accessible without taking apart the aircraft, so this will really put it front and center for the students."

Having access to training panels eliminates the risk of breaking an operational aircraft during training, he said.

Sergeant Hollister also said the training panels will provide a higher level of training for the students because it allows them to have more comprehensive knowledge of the B-52's internal workings.

Furthermore, Sergeant Hollister said that in addition to helping the mission, the new trainers will also save the Air Force money by eliminating the need for aircraft preparation and configuration training.

The panels are currently undergoing cleaning and being used as visual aids for students at the detachment. They are scheduled to be in full use by Dec. 1.