Feb. 25, 2005
By John Ingle
82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AETCNS) -- Sheppard is set to become the premier training center for F/A-22 Raptor maintenance professionals, officials said Feb. 18 during a ground breaking ceremony for the new $19.7-million training facility.
The contractor, ECI Construction, will take about 598 days to complete the 119,000-square-foot structure. Officials anticipate the completion date of the project to be Oct. 8, 2006, with a move-in date in January 2007.
Students new to aircraft maintenance will become maintainers of the Air Force's newest fighter in 2008.
"It's a great day for the Air Force, a great day for Air Education and Training Command, a great day for Sheppard and a great day for surrounding communities," said Col. Mark Atkinson, 82nd Training Wing vice commander.
The colonel said Sheppard will begin training the greatest maintainers in January 2008 and continue the legacy the base has preserved as the world's choice for technical training in the world.
Chief Master Sgt. Ron Wilson, the 82nd Training Group superintendent, said four primary Air Force specialties will train at the facility, including crew chiefs, armament, avionics and propulsion technicians.
"This will be the initial skills training center for the F/A-22 Raptor," he said.
The chief said about 149 Airmen will go through training in fiscal 2008 and will increase as more aircraft become operational. Twenty maintenance training devices will be housed in the school to give Airmen all the needed tools to become just as sophisticated as maintainers as the fighter is to other aircraft.
"The F/A-22 Raptor is the aircraft of the future," Chief Wilson said. "(We want to) demonstrate the war fighting capability of the United States Air Force."
Pam Valdez, the F/A-22 Training System Manage with Boeing, said the trainers used will provide training for fuels systems, armament, flight controls, avionics, seat and canopy, structures, landing gear, hydraulics and power plant systems. The schoolhouse will also have an area for fiber optics and connector repair, she said.
"The showcase of the curriculum will be the AETC developed courseware," Ms. Valdez said. "Thirty-one thousand maintenance tasks will be academically trained in this facility, and to conduct this training, we will install 14 computer-based classrooms."
Boeing will also provide 96 portable training aids for students to use.
Col. Douglas Railey, from the F/A-22 Support Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, said the groundbreaking laid the foundation for the future of F/A-22 Raptor maintenance training for the Air Force.
With the delivery of Raptors to Tyndall AFB, Fla.; Nellis AFB, Nev.; Edwards AFB, Calif., and Langley AFB, Va., the colonel said the new fighter needs a new efficient and effective of creating maintainers. The training facility is the answer.
"The maintainers will be just as technical and sophisticated as the aircraft they will maintain," he said.
