DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. -- Nearly 20 students and faculty members from a local aviation maintenance school toured the flightline here June 23, to get a firsthand look at the world of military aviation, a possible career path upon graduation.
Air Force Reserve recruiters partnered with faculty members from the Aviation Institute of Maintenance’s metro Atlanta campus to get students out of the classroom and onto the Dobbins flightline where they could get up close to a C-130H3 Hercules. AIM provides training for future aircraft mechanics and prepares them for certification by the Federal Aviation Administration as airframe and powerplant technicians.
This not only benefits new graduates, but the Air Force as well, in a lot of cases, explained Tech. Sgt. Sean Slusarczyk, an Air Force Reserve recruiter based in Duluth, Georgia.
“They come in at an advantage because, yes, they’ll go to Air Force technical training school, but they already have some skill and knowledge to maybe help acquire their 5 and 7-level skill a little bit quicker,” said Slusarczyk.
“This gives them a place to go,” said Jim Johnson, an AIM instructor. “Because here’s the deal: you can get the license with no experience. This is what the (airframe and powerplant) program is for – to get you the year and a half of experience – but still, you can’t go down to the major airlines and walk in there with a license with the ink still wet and say ‘I want a job.’”
Instead, Johnson advises his students to join the Air Force, either active or reserve, to gain the necessary experience.
In gaining this experience, students can use the skills learned in the AIM program to help fellow classmates or future coworkers on the flightline with a different perspective on repairing aircraft, Slusarczyk said.
The tour itself took nearly a year to coordinate, but after some careful coordination and a face-to-face meeting with the right people, Slusarczyk and another recruiter were able to highlight the benefits of bringing students onto Dobbins to see the aircraft in person, while also providing the option for some of their students to learn more about opportunities to use their maintenance training in the Air Force Reserve, said Slusarczyk.
“I felt strongly that if I could make it into this school and present to them in a proper way, I could show them value that we have and also give value to their students,” Slusarczyk said.
The students began their trip to Dobbins by touring the flightline and then a C-130 undergoing maintenance. Students walked around the Hercules, seeing various components that power the engines as well as the cockpit and cargo bay of the aircraft.
A crew chief and the maintenance squadron’s first sergeant were present while the students explored the plane to answer questions about working on the aircraft. The students also broke off into small groups and talked with the maintainers as well as recruiters about the Air Force Reserve.
Slusarczyk said he sees a bright future for the program as nearly 30 students graduate from the school every five to six weeks, which should provide plenty of opportunities for highly-trained maintainers to see the possibilities of a future career in military aviation.