Confessions Of A U.S. Marine F/A-18 Hornet Maintainer

Updated Jul 25, 2019 1:08 AM EDT

We have heard so much lately about poor readiness across America’s air arms , but the USMC, in particular, has left some of its most essential aircraft communities in especially dire straits . The service’s worked over F/A-18 Hornet fleet is one of them. Over the last ten years, it has become all too common to see Marine tactical air squadrons with rows of planes sitting in pieces on the apron, their key components having been cannibalized to help healthier jets limp back into the air. Maintainers have even had to scrounge through the boneyard and even museums looking for impossible to find parts. And all of this negatively impacts a unit’s ability to stay current on critical skills, not to mention morale and personnel retention.

But through it all, some of the hardest working people anywhere have powered on and pulled endless metaphorical rabbits out of hats to keep their jets flying and their pilots as ready for combat as they possibly can. These are the maintenance people, the unsung heroes that may never even get to fly in the very jets that they spend countless hours and years of their lives servicing at home and in faraway lands.

One of these talented Marines agreed to talk with The War Zone about their past experiences in the thick of the USMC’s aviation readiness meltdown, and about what it takes to keep beaten-down F/A-18 Hornets in the air. The Marine, who wanted no fanfare or congratulations for this article, requested to remain anonymous and gave a frank, honest and selfless account of his experiences. Quite frankly, his words are a testament to all of the ‘little guys’ who do the less glamorous but absolutely necessary jobs in America’s military machine. Like so many young enlisted personnel, he just wanted to serve his country, but he never thought he would end up tearing apart broken $30M strike fighters and putting them back together again as an occupation.

Keeping the USMC’s rickety Hornet fleet flying

From when I first started working on hornets to when I wrapped up my enlistment I saw the readiness and availability worsen and worsen. The F/A-18 is obviously an older platform so stuff would break with pretty decent frequency. The pilot would write up the discrepancy and we would begin to troubleshoot the issue. But a lot of times we would be hamstrung because there would only be one set of test equipment on the entire base that was needed and we would have to ask to borrow it from another squadron. If the other squadron needed it or was using it we were shit out of luck. There would be instances when we would be given a deadline to return the test equipment without even having fully completed the troubleshooting process because the unit we borrowed it from needed it back.

Getting parts was another nightmare. There were many times where we would order parts and they would take almost a week to get or we would get multiple defective parts. I remember in Guam we had an OBOGS (onboard oxygen generation system) generator go bad and turned in the part to be repaired by the MALS (Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron) unit supporting us. We got the same part back twice and it was still not functioning correctly. On the third try, it finally worked properly. Something like that should not be occurring.

I also remember a time where we had a rash of canopies delaminating and going bad but we weren’t able to get replacements in a timely fashion because there was only one available in the entire Marine Corps and it was all the way in Japan. So we cannibalized a canopy from one jet that was down waiting for parts to another jet. After the second jet was down we moved the canopy to a third jet. Our MMCO (Maintenance Materiel Control Officer) was constantly having to swing deals with base supply or other squadrons to get us the parts we needed.

Most maintenance shops keep extra consumable items on hand just in case we need them for something unexpected or if supply didn’t have any available, so we would have to barter consumables with other squadrons to get what we needed. At certain flight hour intervals we had inspections that required us to remove, inspect, and if acceptable re-install certain parts, but in order to do that we needed to replace certain consumables like o-rings, crush gaskets, etc., and everything we needed came in a kit that we had to order. On many occasions, the Marine Corps didn’t have enough kits on hand to adequately replace what was needed.

There were also shortages of certain explosives that we needed to replace due to their upcoming expiration dates. The ejection seat in the F/A-18 is made by Martin-Baker and there were more than a handful of times when we needed a part and there were zero in inventory so we would have to ask our on-site Martin-Baker engineer if he had extras on hand. Lucky for us he did every time. We also had a few ECS issues that required Boeing to send out technical representatives to assist us (and it took almost 2 weeks to solve the issue even with their help). So you can see what we were dealing with here.

These issues were Marine Corps-wide not just localized to VMFA-232. We were given chicken crap and expected to make chicken salad or turn water into wine. Some jobs can take a few minutes while others can take days. Most of the time we were able to meet our flight schedule but whenever we would ratchet up the flight schedule and conduct robust ops tempo that’s when jets would break left and right. When I first found out the Navy had Super Hornets and we were stuck with these old birds I was bit envious I’m not gonna lie. Even though I was just an E-3 I felt the Marine Corps was just being short-sighted and narrow-minded by blindly placing their faith in the readiness of the F-35.

Readying the Hornet for its next mission

It usually depends on the flight schedule, but the vast majority of the time there is a great urgency to get turnaround inspections on F/A-18s done. For egress specifically we inspect the canopy and the ejection seat for any damage or downing discrepancies, and if it’s an older jet that uses LOX (liquid oxygen) then we refill the LOX bottle.

Ordnance is usually running around loading new chaff and flare buckets in the jet or uploading/downloading munitions for the next event. The plane captains refuel the jets, service the oil, and inspect the aircraft overall to ensure its readiness to fly again. And avionics loads whatever necessary navigational data that the jet requires for its next event.

If we can swing it without downing the jet we try to troubleshoot any issues so that the aircraft can go from PMC (partially mission capable) to FMC (fully mission capable). Maintenance control is very hesitant to let us conduct maintenance on a jet that is in an up status for fear of us possibly downing the jet unless it is absolutely necessary and unavoidable.

Unsurprisingly the ECS (environmental control system) presented the most problems on the F/A-18. It’s a very finicky and somewhat complicated system that seems to have a mind of its own. In my experience, it seemed that the ECS operated well in drier climates. Whereas in humid climates, like Guam or Key West, the humidity wreaked havoc on the ECS and gave our shop personnel many frustrating discrepancies to troubleshoot.

To be more specific, most of the symptoms that persisted overall were “low/no air flow” to the cockpit—warm weak air flowing to the cockpit instead of the usual cool air to keep the pilot comfortable— “av air hot”—avionics not getting the cool air required in order to keep them from overheating while being used during flight—”OBOGS degrade”—which meant either a component for the OBOGS system is failing/failed or the pilot is not receiving enough purified oxygen, which can also lead to a very dangerous physiological event for the pilot.

Last but certainly not least is the loss/fluctuation of cabin pressurization. This can be very elusive to successfully troubleshoot at times because the cabin pressure system may act up during flight by not scheduling properly (pressurize or depressurize at the proper time/altitude) and sometimes we could not duplicate the issue on the ground. This would lead us to swapping out parts until the issue stopped rearing its ugly head.

To be honest, there were many times when the pilot or pilots would write up ECS gripes that they experienced in flight and we simply couldn’t replicate the issue on the ground while doing our testing and troubleshooting. But thankfully we were able to rectify the issue more often than not. Sometimes the issues that persisted were the result of aircraft wiring being damaged or faulty and we would troubleshoot for hours, days, and sometimes weeks all because our electricians were reluctant to admit it was their wiring that was creating issues.

It still irks me how many man hours and parts were wasted on the reluctance of our electricians to admit it was their system that needed troubleshooting, but I also cannot go without saying that there were plenty of instances where they did give us assistance as well. It was a love-hate relationship…..mostly hate (haha). I can’t say that there is a way to “fix” these persistent issues. To me, the problem is that these jets are just too worn out and old that it’s more like plugging 11 leaks with ten fingers. There was also a strange and baffling phenomenon that would occur, we would fix a jet and it would come back from a flight with no issues. Then after not flying for 24, 36, or 48 hours, it would have some sort of issue after starting up and getting ready to go out for a flight. Somehow the jet would just break while sitting on the flight line while not even being operated.

Getting the show on the road

In order to get our jets ready for deployment, the MAG (Marine Air Group) focuses their support on us to give priority over other F/A-18 squadrons on base. Anything from parts, testing equipment, ground support equipment, or, if a shop is lacking enough experienced maintainers or an unforeseen event prevents a Marine from deploying at the last minute, even personnel are pumped into the squadron. There is a lot of pressure on us as mechanics to get our jets all ready to go for the trans-pacific flight, but every single time we deployed we were able to get all of our aircraft ready and out the door when they were supposed to.

When our birds would embark on their journey there would be two small groups of maintainers that facilitate the trip. One group would be “lead” and go ahead of the aircraft while the other group would be “trail” and they would follow behind the aircraft. Both groups of maintainers would usually fly in KC-130s (but I believe there was an instance of a C-17 being used as well) with a spare engine, tools, test equipment, and sometimes spare parts.

The job of lead was to land ahead of the jets as they hopped from location to location and recover them. If there were any downing discrepancies that required maintenance “lead” would try to troubleshoot and identify the problem, but they were usually not able to fix it because they had to keep pace with the flyable aircraft. The job of “trail” was to pick up where “lead” left off and fix any of the issues.

If the maintainers are lacking in the necessary items to fix whatever the issue was, a KC-130 is sent to that location with whatever was needed. The U.S. Air Force always provided tanker support to gas up our birds in flight as well. So as you can see there’s quite a bit of support that goes in getting an F/A-18 squadron across the pond.

Traveling with the flying circus

Going on the road is a juxtaposition of working hard to support a robust flight schedule and having fun. It’s always exciting for me to get to see new locations or different bases. Going to RAAF Tindal especially comes to mind. Our assigned living area was in these underground cold war era bunkers that had these huge thick blast doors at the entrance. While there, I was able to drive with some friends from other shops in VMFA-232 to Nitmiluk National Park, Australia and hike to Katherine Gorge, then go swimming in Edith Falls. That was quite an adventure to be able to experience the beautiful geography.

It was also really cool to interact with the RAAF and see how they operate. They have an awesome chow hall at RAAF Tindal (I was a little jealous to be honest). Another awesome place we were fortunate to go to (twice actually) is beautiful Key West Florida. Our squadron was sent to NAS Key West for some training with VFC-111, so naturally, we took advantage of the opportunity.

While there our squadron enjoyed the good food (gotta have key lime pie in Key West!), had some drinks, and almost everyone went fishing. My shop and I were able to go saltwater fishing on one of our free weekends. The fishing trip didn’t turn out the way we expected. Half of the group got sick—myself included—and the rest that were able to continue fishing weren’t able to catch anything worth keeping. But despite all that I don’t regret it.

While we do get to have fun there is a lot work that is involved. We usually work 12 hour shifts and due to the ops tempo there is a large maintenance load because our old birds have a hard time keeping up. Especially if the climate is humid like it is in Florida, then the ECS tends to act up and the means more work than usual for us as egress mechanics.

Heading to Fallon for Topgun

First off I hate to disappoint, but there were no Maverick, Ice-Man, Jester, or Viper sightings. And sadly there weren’t any towers being “buzzed.” At first it was a little hectic adapting to the ops tempo and basically trying to form a cohesive group of maintainers from multiple navy squadrons, but we were all able to assimilate and get the hang of things rather nicely after the first few days or so.

A sailor walks past the lineup of Topgun class aircraft at NAS Fallon., Tyler Rogoway

It was awesome to see the enormous effort and support that goes into a Topgun class. I never would’ve even guessed the amount of personnel, equipment, or aircraft that went into it would be that enormous. The Topgun class was comprised of legacy and Super Hornets and surprisingly the Red Devil’s F/A-18Cs held up pretty well as far as being in an up status throughout the three-month-long event. It was also very interesting to see famed VFC-13 and its diverse aircraft with their awesome paint jobs up close and personal. Two different Air Force units showed up with F-16s and F-22s to “fight” against the class for certain portions of training as well.

The UMSC’s aircraft maintenance woes as a whole

I haven’t ever really spoke with the helo guys (Navy or Marine) about how their situation was as far as maintenance ops and demand so I can’t really give an answer to that. But as far as the Harrier and Prowler guys went, it seemed that their situations were more dire than ours. They had a much harder time keeping their aircraft in an FMC or even PMC status than we did.

At MCAS Iwakuni we were in a hangar next door to a Harrier and a Prowler squadron and they always had most of their aircraft down for maintenance. They seemed to have had the same difficulty getting parts through the supply system in a timely manner that we did. Because of the enormous workload, both units where 12 on 12 off the whole time they were there next to us. I seem to recall one those squadrons working Christmas Eve as all. No matter what the situation, someone always has it worse.

An AV-8B+ undergoes an engine change. Every time the jet’s moster Pegasus engine is removed the aiframe has to be split in two., USMC

The new plan to infuse Navy Hornets into the USMC’s inventory

Even though the legacy F/A-18 is a pain to work on I still think the platform is pretty awesome. It saddens me to see the state of decay that the Marine Hornet fleet has fallen into. Not only is it sad but it’s also detrimental to our nations security and ability to respond and counter threats. This danger also extends to the pilots that fly them. How can Marine aviators do their job with a clear focus and sound mind if they have something like worrying about the quality of their aircraft in the back of their mind? Their job has enough risks and hazards without it compounded by the poor state of the platform they are flying.

The infusion of the Navy’s legacy Hornets is something that is sorely needed and will be a greatly welcomed addition. Anything that can help alleviate the horrendous and unacceptable readiness rates will be greatly welcomed resource I’m sure. But this is also a too little too late, band-aid solution to an obviously much larger issue. The damage is already done to the Marine Air Wings and I really don’t think this will stem the tide until the final retirement of the legacy F/A-18s probably in the 2030s.

I know it’s easy to Monday morning quarterback the poor decision making of the Marine brass but the fact of the matter is that they failed the Marine Corps and should’ve procured Super Hornets to provide a bridge of transition to the F-35. Had they chose to do so the infrastructure was/is there via the U.S. Navy to provide support for any needs that would arise including training and logistics.

The Hornet’s spate of critical onboard oxygen generation system woes

Like many others, I myself am rather perplexed as to the root cause of these dangerous events. The ECS (environmental control system) has redundancies that are supposed to prevent these dangerous re-occurring episodes. Speaking from personal experience I do know that if the aircraft’s electrical system is faulty or begins to operate incorrectly, all of the many sensors, valves, and components that rely on electrical signals or voltage could be impacted, and if that process is compromised then the ECS will act faulty, even if the components that make up the system are not failing.

A compromised or faulty electrical system can also burn out and cause the ECS components to fail, therefore exacerbating the issue. The root of the problem may also stem from manufacturing defects or even from the suppliers that sell parts to the assembling manufacturer. I hope that the comprehensive review and investigation being conducted can produce a permanent solution to this dangerous and persistent problem.

A call to serve with the USMC

Ever since I was a young boy, about five or six years old, I was always fascinated with all things military and aircraft related. That coupled with the fact that I loved to read led me to crack open any book I could get my hands on regarding those topics. The things that consistently stood out to me were the tenacity, determination, and toughness of the Marine Corps throughout our nation’s history (I am not in any shape or form trying to minimize the other key contributions of the other branches).

I also grew up having many family friends that were Marine veterans and they gave me plenty of insight into the traditions and high demands that are required of Marines. After hearing all their stories of the pros and cons of enlisting in the Marine Corps it solidified my determination that I wanted to be a part of that family. I wanted to enlist as early as possible so I spoke to a Marine recruiter and found out the earliest I could do that was 17 years old with the signature of a consenting parent. Despite being extremely apprehensive about me enlisting at an early age my mother agreed and as soon I turned 17 off to the recruiting office we went. A few months after graduating high school I shipped off to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego at 18 years old.

The winding road to the flight line

After completing boot camp (13 weeks long) and Marine Combat Training (four weeks long) I was sent to NAS Pensacola, Home to NATTC which is a giant hub for naval aviation training, to begin training as an Air Traffic Controller. Before class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday every MOS (military occupational specialty) had PT in the morning which always involved a lot of running and a lot of pull-ups. After PT we would go to the chow hall to eat rather quickly. After breakfast each MOS lines up in separate formations outside the barracks (except for ATC we lined up outside the chow hall), the platoon leaders of each MOS take accountability after a few minutes of standing by in order to ensure no one is UA (unauthorized absence), and then marches to class.

Most of the MOS classes are held in classrooms inside this large two-story building called “The Mega Building” which is close to the chow hall, but the ATC school building was the furthest away from the chow hall at about a quarter of a mile. At about roughly a third of the way through the ATC course I failed my third test and washed out. That course is pretty rigorous and the attrition rate is high. Before our first test we had a class of 14 after the first test we had six.

Being faced with failing air traffic control school was quite a gut punch to say the east, but instead of feeling sorry for myself I decided to take it in stride and have a positive attitude instead of negative one. Due to the needs of the Marine Corps, I was re-classified as an egress mechanic, and I had no say in the selection of my newly assigned MOS.

The egress course is broken up in to “A” and “C’ schools. “A” school is about two months long. My instructors did a great job conveying and communicating the course material in order for me to thoroughly understand it. “A” school is an introductory course to the general theory of operations for the ECS, emergency escape systems, proper safety and precautions regarding aircraft maintenance, explosive handling, corrosion control, how to navigate/utilize technical publications and proper use of ground support equipment such as an A/M26U-4 (NAN) nitrogen servicing cart, which we use for testing certain components on the ejection seat, and a TMU-27/M LOX servicing cart which is used to fill/refill the LOX bottle located in the aircraft.

Prior to this training, I had zero experience doing anything mechanical so to me this we quite a shock to my system having to learn all these various types of tools and equipment. Early on I had a hard time adjusting but after taking some lumps I began to get the hang of it. After being lectured on each topic we would be tested through a written exam and then had to complete the maintenance tasks we were lectured on without the instructors’ assistance. It wasn’t pretty but I passed all my tests.

Upon graduation from “A” school, I received my orders and headed to “C” school at NAS Oceana in Virginia to be trained on the F/A-18C platform. I didn’t get to pick my platform or where I went to “C” school, I just had to go where the needs of the Marine Corps required me to. “C” School is four weeks long and there I learned about the ECS, egress systems, and technical publications specific to the F/A-18C.

Becoming a ‘Red Devil’ of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232

A short time before graduating “C” school I was given three choices of where I prefer to get stationed: east coast, west coast, or overseas. And we have to list them from most desired to least desired. Most of the time the Marine Corps doesn’t care where you want to go they just send you where you’re needed. I would say that MCAS Miramar is the most desirable location based off the proximity to San Diego and the beautiful weather. As far as each individual unit’s reputation goes, I was fortunate enough to get my location of preference on the west coast and be assigned to VMFA-232 Red Devils based out of MCAS Miramar.

Checking into a new squadron was a little overwhelming at first. I was assisted by NCOs (non-commissioned officers) with the whole checking in process and they made sure I was able to get all the things I needed to get done in order to process into a Marine squadron. After finishing up checking in, which takes about two to four weeks, I was placed on night crew.

Night crew is where most of the maintenance gets done because there is usually little to no flying unless there is a scheduled exercise or event. So for a brand new maintainer it’s the perfect training environment. Being on nights is not very fun, a work day is usually 13 plus hours long, a lot more work is expected out of night shift, and if you live in the barracks like I did your sleep is constantly interrupted by fixed wing and rotary aircraft all day.

NCOs in the shop are responsible for training junior Marines so I shadowed my NCOs and basically became a sponge for learning as much as could about my job. This included how to communicate with other shops, communicate what was going on to maintenance control, and even how to brief the officers on what was going on that pertained to our shop at the maintenance meetings each day.

I also had to learn how to play politics and navigate many different egos throughout the maintenance department in order to get things done. When it comes to teamwork, certain shops were easier to work and communicate with than others and that played a role in how quickly or slowly certain things got accomplished. But overall it is a rather stressful and interesting dynamic that one has to navigate on a daily basis.

Going from Red Devils to Black Knights

Checking out of one unit and into a new one was pretty easy for me as far as the official Marine Corps process because I was literally going across the hangar to VMFA-314, but the difficult part was leaving my friends behind. Thankfully 314 was very warm in their welcoming me to the squadron.

VMFA-232 was deploying to the Middle East very soon and I was going to separate in a few months so I had to leave. As far as squadron culture goes I would say there is quite a difference between the two units. At VMFA-232 there was more pride in our squadron’s rich history and reputation. Our leadership constantly reminded us that we were the Marine Corps first, oldest, and most highly decorated fighter squadron so we were held to higher standard than other units on the flight line. But all that came at a cost. The camaraderie wasn’t as strong at 232 as it was at 314.

People seemed to get along better with each other and watch each other’s backs at 314. While there wasn’t a huge emphasis on history at 314, there was more teamwork that was evident. There wasn’t any animosity between shops like there was at 232. There was also a period of very poor leadership at 232 that revealed certain so-called “leadership” was more concerned about career advancement instead of being concerned about being a leader and although I had a brief stint at 314 I never encountered that there.

Losing a superior and a friend

Many pilots act like primadonnas, Major Sareen was not like that at all. Major Taj Sareen was the embodiment of a true hero and selfless leader. Even to the very end, he put others above himself.

My first time meeting him was when we had duty together and to my surprise, he knew who I was and which shop I was in—which to put it in context, showed me the type of person he was. To know anything about me, some lowly Lance Corporal who just checked-in to the unit, really meant something. Most officers, to be honest, didn’t really care about any E-3s.

Later in the day while on duty together we were talking and he asked me if I liked fast cars. Of course I did, I was a 19-year-old guy, so I said yes. To my shock, he offered to let me take his Ferrari for a spin! I told him I appreciated the offer but I respectfully declined—to this day I regret not taking him up on the offer.

To my knowledge, before the crash, he was encountering issues with the inertial navigation system (INS) and that paired with low clouds/overcast conditions led to his awareness being compromised as far as what the aircraft was actually doing. To put into context the piloting skills that Major Sareen possessed were was nothing short of exceptional. He was a Hornet instructor and logged over 1,500 hours flying in F/A-18s.

No matter how busy Major Sareen was he always took time to talk to everyone and was always genuine. He didn’t care what rank you were, what shop you worked in, even if you were junior enlisted he treated you with respect and dignity. He was a rare officer and it was an extreme honor and privilege to know him.

Contact the editor: Tyler@thedrive.com

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更新于美国东部时间2019年7月25日凌晨1:08

近来，我们听到了很多关于美国空军战备状况不佳的消息，但美国海军陆战队的情况尤其糟糕，一些最重要的飞机部队的处境尤为危急。海军陆战队过度使用的F/A-18“大黄蜂”战斗机机队就是其中之一。过去十年间，我们经常看到海军陆战队战术航空中队的停机坪上停满了拆解的飞机，它们的关键部件被拆卸下来，用来帮助其他状况较好的飞机勉强重返蓝天。维护人员甚至不得不翻遍飞机坟场和博物馆，寻找那些几乎不可能找到的零件。所有这些都对部队保持关键技能的熟练度造成了负面影响，更不用说士气和人员流失了。

但即便如此，仍有一些世界上最勤奋的人坚持不懈，竭尽全力确保战机正常运转，让飞行员时刻保持最佳战斗状态。这些人就是维护人员，是默默奉献的无名英雄，他们或许永远没有机会驾驶自己花费无数时间和精力维护的战机，无论是在国内还是在遥远的异国他乡。

其中一位才华横溢的海军陆战队员同意接受《战区》的采访，讲述他在美国海军陆战队航空战备崩溃最严重时期的亲身经历，以及如何让那些破损不堪的F/A-18“大黄蜂”战斗机继续翱翔蓝天。这位海军陆战队员不愿接受任何赞扬或祝贺，要求匿名，并以坦诚、真挚和无私的态度讲述了自己的经历。坦率地说，他的话语是对美国军事机器中所有默默奉献、从事着看似不起眼却至关重要工作的“小人物”的最好诠释。和许多年轻的入伍人员一样，他只想为国效力，但他从未想过自己最终会以拆解价值3000万美元的破损战斗机并重新组装为职业。

让美国海军陆战队老旧的“大黄蜂”战斗机机队继续飞行

从我开始参与“大黄蜂”战斗机项目到退役，我亲眼目睹了战备状态和可用性每况愈下。F/A-18显然是一款老旧的机型，所以故障频发。飞行员会记录故障情况，然后我们开始排查问题。但很多时候，我们束手无策，因为整个基地可能只有一套所需的测试设备，我们不得不向其他中队借用。如果其他中队也需要或正在使用，我们就只能束手无策了。有时，我们甚至还没完成故障排除，就被要求在规定的期限内归还测试设备，因为借用的单位需要收回设备。

零件供应简直是噩梦。很多时候，我们订购的零件要等将近一周才能到货，或者收到的零件都是坏的。我记得在关岛的时候，我们的机载制氧系统（OBOGS）发生器坏了，我们把零件送去给支援我们的海军陆战队航空后勤中队（MALS）修理。同样的零件我们修了两次，还是不能正常工作。第三次才终于修好。这种事本不应该发生。

我还记得有一次，我们飞机的座舱盖突然大量脱落损坏，但我们无法及时获得替换件，因为整个海军陆战队只有一台备用座舱盖，而且还在日本。所以我们只好从一架因等待零件而停飞的飞机上拆下一个座舱盖，装到另一架飞机上。第二架飞机也停飞后，我们又把拆下来的座舱盖装到了第三架飞机上。我们的维修物资控制官（MMCO）不得不不断地与基地后勤部门或其他中队协商，才能帮我们弄到所需的零件。

大多数维修车间都会储备一些额外的耗材，以备不时之需，比如应对突发情况或补给短缺时。因此，我们有时需要与其他中队交换耗材。每隔一定的飞行小时数，我们都会进行例行检查，需要拆卸、检查某些部件，如果合格则重新安装。但要完成这些检查，我们需要更换一些耗材，例如O型圈、密封垫圈等等。所有需要的耗材都装在一个需要订购的工具包里。很多时候，海军陆战队没有足够的工具包来满足更换需求。

由于某些炸药即将过期，我们需要更换，但也出现了短缺。F/A-18的弹射座椅由马丁-贝克公司制造，有好几次我们需要某个零件，但库存却为零，所以我们不得不询问现场的马丁-贝克工程师是否有备用件。幸运的是，他每次都有。此外，我们还遇到了一些电子控制系统（ECS）的问题，需要波音公司派技术代表来协助我们（即使有他们的帮助，也花了将近两周的时间才解决问题）。所以，您可以想象我们当时面临的困境。

这些问题是整个海军陆战队都存在的，并非VMFA-232中队独有。我们被分配了鸡粪，却被要求做出鸡肉沙拉或者点石成金。有些工作只需几分钟就能完成，而有些却要耗费数天。大多数时候我们都能按时完成飞行任务，但每当我们加快飞行计划，进行高强度作战时，飞机就会频频出现故障。当我第一次得知海军拥有超级大黄蜂战斗机，而我们却只能使用这些老旧的飞机时，说实话，我有点羡慕。尽管我当时只是个三级士官，但我仍然觉得海军陆战队盲目地相信F-35的战备能力，实在是目光短浅、思想狭隘。

为“大黄蜂”战机的下一次任务做好准备

通常取决于航班时刻表，但绝大多数情况下，F/A-18 的周转检查都非常紧急。具体来说，对于弹射座椅，我们会检查座舱盖和弹射座椅是否有任何损坏或坠毁痕迹；如果是使用液氧 (LOX) 的老式飞机，我们会重新充装液氧瓶。

军械部门通常忙着往飞机上装填新的箔条和干扰弹，或者为下一次任务装卸弹药。机长们则负责给飞机加油、保养机油，并对飞机进行全面检查，确保其随时可以再次飞行。而航空电子设备部门则会加载飞机下一次任务所需的所有导航数据。

如果能在不导致飞机停飞的情况下进行维修，我们会尝试排除故障，使飞机能够从部分任务能力（PMC）状态过渡到完全任务能力（FMC）状态。除非绝对必要且不可避免，否则维护控制部门非常谨慎地不允许我们对处于待命状态的飞机进行维护，因为他们担心我们可能会导致飞机停飞。

不出所料，F/A-18 的环境控制系统 (ECS) 问题最多。这套系统非常挑剔，而且相当复杂，似乎有自己的想法。根据我的经验，ECS 在干燥气候下运行良好。但在像关岛或基韦斯特这样潮湿的气候下，湿度会严重干扰 ECS 的运行，给我们的维修人员带来了许多令人沮丧的故障排查工作。

更具体地说，持续存在的症状大多是“驾驶舱气流不足/无气流”——流向驾驶舱的不是通常用来保持飞行员舒适的冷空气，而是温暖微弱的空气——“航空空气过热”——航空电子设备在飞行中使用时无法获得所需的冷空气以防止过热——“机载制氧系统性能下降”——这意味着机载制氧系统的某个组件出现故障/失效，或者飞行员没有获得足够的纯净氧气，这也可能导致飞行员发生非常危险的生理事件。

最后但同样重要的是客舱增压的损失/波动。有时，这个问题很难成功排查，因为客舱增压系统可能在飞行过程中出现故障，例如无法按时按量增压或泄压（在适当的时间/高度），而且有时我们在地面上也无法重现该问题。这导致我们只能不断更换部件，直到问题彻底解决。

说实话，很多时候飞行员会反映他们在飞行中遇到的电子控制系统（ECS）问题，但我们在地面进行测试和故障排除时却无法重现这些问题。不过好在大多数情况下我们都能解决问题。有时，持续存在的问题是由于飞机线路损坏或故障造成的，我们可能要花上几个小时、几天甚至几周的时间来排查故障，而这一切都是因为我们的电工不愿承认是他们的线路出了问题。

电工们不愿承认是他们的系统需要检修，导致我们浪费了那么多工时和零件，这至今仍让我耿耿于怀。但我也不能否认，他们也确实在很多情况下提供了帮助。真是又爱又恨……恨意居多（哈哈）。我无法断言有什么办法可以“解决”这些顽固的问题。在我看来，问题在于这些飞机已经太旧太破了，就像用十根手指堵住十一个漏洞一样难。还有一种奇怪且令人费解的现象：我们修好一架飞机，它飞行回来后一切正常。但之后，在停飞24、36甚至48小时后，启动并准备起飞时，它又会出现某种问题。不知何故，飞机停在跑道上，甚至没有操作，就突然坏了。

让演出开始

为了确保我们的战机做好部署准备，海军陆战队航空大队（MAG）将支援重点放在我们身上，优先于基地内其他F/A-18中队。无论是零部件、测试设备、地面支援设备，还是如果某个维修车间缺乏足够的经验丰富的维护人员，或者由于突发事件导致海军陆战队员无法在最后一刻部署，甚至连人员都会被紧急调派到我们中队。作为机械师，我们承受着巨大的压力，必须确保所有战机都做好跨太平洋飞行的准备，但每次部署，我们都能按时完成所有飞机的准备工作，让它们顺利起飞。

当我们的飞机启程时，会有两组维护人员负责协助。一组作为“领队”，走在飞机前面；另一组作为“尾队”，跟在飞机后面。两组维护人员通常乘坐KC-130运输机（但我相信也曾使用过C-17），机上配备备用发动机、工具、测试设备，有时还会携带备用零件。

领航机的任务是在喷气式飞机从一个地点飞到另一个地点时先降落并回收它们。如果飞机坠毁后出现任何需要维护的故障，“领航机”会尝试排除故障并找出问题所在，但通常无法修复，因为他们必须跟上可飞行飞机的速度。“尾随机”的任务是接替“领航机”的工作，并解决所有遗留问题。

如果维护人员缺少必要的零件来解决问题，就会派遣一架KC-130运输机前往现场运送所需物品。美国空军也一直提供空中加油支援，为我们的战机在飞行途中加油。由此可见，要让一个F/A-18中队跨越大西洋，需要相当全面的后勤保障。

与飞行马戏团一起旅行

出差既要努力工作以保证飞行计划的顺利进行，又要享受飞行的乐趣，这种矛盾的体验让我乐在其中。能够去到新的地方或不同的基地总是让我兴奋不已。尤其是去廷德尔皇家空军基地（RAAF Tindal）的经历，更是让我印象深刻。我们被分配到的住所位于冷战时期遗留下来的地下掩体里，入口处有厚重的防爆门。在那里，我和VMFA-232中队其他部门的朋友们一起开车去了澳大利亚的尼特米卢克国家公园（Nitmiluk National Park），徒步前往凯瑟琳峡谷（Katherine Gorge），然后在伊迪丝瀑布（Edith Falls）游泳。能够亲身感受那里的壮丽景色，真是一次难忘的冒险之旅。

能和澳大利亚皇家空军互动，了解他们的运作方式，真是太棒了。廷德尔皇家空军基地的食堂简直棒极了（说实话，我有点羡慕）。我们还有幸去了另一个很棒的地方（实际上是去了两次），那就是美丽的佛罗里达州基韦斯特。我们中队被派往基韦斯特海军航空站与VFC-111中队进行训练，所以我们当然要抓住这个机会。

在那儿的时候，我们中队享用了美食（到了基韦斯特一定要尝尝青柠派！），喝了点酒，几乎每个人都去钓鱼了。我和我的同事们在一个空闲的周末也去海钓了一次。不过，这次钓鱼之旅并没有像我们预期的那样顺利。一半的人都病倒了——包括我——而剩下的那些还能继续钓鱼的人也没钓到什么值得带走的鱼。但即便如此，我也不后悔。

虽然我们工作时会遇到一些乐趣，但也需要付出很多努力。我们通常轮班工作12小时，而且由于运营节奏快，维护工作量很大，因为我们的老旧飞机很难跟上进度。尤其是在像佛罗里达这样潮湿的气候下，紧急呼叫系统（ECS）更容易出现故障，这意味着我们这些紧急呼叫系统维护人员的工作量会比平时更大。

前往 Fallon 参加《壮志凌云》节目

首先，很遗憾地告诉大家，我们没有看到 Maverick、Ice-Man、Jester 或 Viper 的踪迹。而且，也没有看到任何塔台遭到“低空侦察”。一开始，适应作战节奏有点忙乱，而且基本上是在努力将来自多个海军中队的维护人员组成一个紧密的团队，但经过几天的适应，我们都很好地融入其中，并掌握了要领。

一名水兵走过法伦海军航空站的“壮志凌云”级飞机。（泰勒·罗戈威摄）

亲眼目睹“壮志凌云”训练班背后所投入的巨大努力和支持，真是令人叹为观止。我做梦也没想到，这其中竟然需要如此庞大的人员、设备和飞机。“壮志凌云”训练班的学员包括老式F/A-18“超级大黄蜂”和F/A-18“超级大黄蜂”，令人惊讶的是，红魔中队的F/A-18C在为期三个月的训练中始终保持着良好的状态。近距离亲眼见到著名的VFC-13中队及其各式各样、涂装精美的飞机也十分有趣。此外，还有两支不同的空军部队携F-16和F-22战斗机前来，在部分训练环节与学员们进行“对抗”。

密苏里大学圣克鲁兹分校（UMSC）整体飞机维护困境

我之前没怎么跟直升机部队（海军或海军陆战队）的人聊过他们的维护作业和需求情况，所以这方面我不太清楚。但就鹞式和徘徊者战斗机的部队而言，他们的处境似乎比我们更糟糕。他们维持飞机的FMC（飞行维护证书）甚至PMC（维护保养证书）状态都比我们困难得多。

在岩国海军陆战队航空站，我们隔壁机库是“鹞”式战斗机和“徘​​徊者”电子战飞机的中队，他们的飞机总是大部分都在停机维护。看来他们和我们一样，在零部件供应方面遇到了同样的难题。由于工作量巨大，这两个中队在我们隔壁驻扎期间一直实行12小时工作12小时休息的轮班制度。我好像记得其中一个中队甚至在平安夜也全员值班。不管情况如何，总有人比我们更惨。

一架AV-8B+正在进行发动机更换。每次拆除这架喷气式飞机的“飞马”主发动机时，机身都必须分成两部分。（美国海军陆战队）

将海军“大黄蜂”战斗机并入美国海军陆战队的新计划

尽管老旧的F/A-18维护起来很麻烦，但我仍然认为它是一款非常出色的战机。看到海军陆战队的“大黄蜂”机队如今的破败状况，我感到非常痛心。这不仅令人惋惜，也损害了我们国家的安全和应对威胁的能力。这种危险也延伸到了驾驶这些战机的飞行员身上。如果海军陆战队的飞行员时刻担心着飞机的质量，他们又如何能集中精力、保持清醒的头脑去执行任务呢？他们的工作本身就充满了风险和危险，如果再加上他们驾驶的战机状况不佳，那就更是雪上加霜了。

海军老旧的F/A-18“大黄蜂”战斗机的加入固然迫切需要，也必将受到热烈欢迎。任何有助于改善糟糕且令人无法接受的战备率的措施都将是极其宝贵的资源。但这显然只是治标不治本，对于一个更为严重的问题而言，这无疑是杯水车薪。海军陆战队航空兵的损失已经造成，我并不认为这能在老旧F/A-18战斗机最终退役之前（可能在2030年代）扭转颓势。

我知道事后诸葛亮很容易，但事实是他们辜负了海军陆战队高层的信任，他们本应采购超级大黄蜂战斗机作为向F-35过渡的桥梁。如果他们当初选择这样做，美国海军现有的基础设施完全可以满足包括训练和后勤在内的任何需求。

“大黄蜂”战机机载氧气生成系统频频出现严重故障

和许多人一样，我也对这些危险事件的根本原因感到困惑。环境控制系统（ECS）具有冗余设计，旨在防止这些危险事件再次发生。就我个人经验而言，我知道如果飞机的电气系统出现故障或运行异常，所有依赖电信号或电压的传感器、阀门和组件都可能受到影响；如果这一过程受到干扰，即使构成系统的其他组件本身没有故障，环境控制系统也会出现故障。

受损或故障的电气系统也可能导致烧毁，进而造成电子控制系统（ECS）组件失效，从而加剧问题。问题的根源也可能在于制造缺陷，甚至可能在于向组装制造商供应零部件的供应商。我希望正在进行的全面审查和调查能够为这一危险且长期存在的问题找到永久的解决方案。

应邀加入美国海军陆战队服役

从我五六岁起，我就对军事和飞机相关的一切都着迷。再加上我热爱阅读，只要能找到的关于这些主题的书籍，我都会迫不及待地翻阅。最让我印象深刻的是海军陆战队在我国历史上所展现出的坚韧、决心和顽强精神（我绝无意贬低其他军种的重要贡献）。

我从小就有很多朋友是海军陆战队退伍老兵，他们让我深入了解了海军陆战队的传统和高要求。听了他们讲述加入海军陆战队的利弊之后，我更加坚定了成为这个大家庭一员的决心。我渴望尽早入伍，于是联系了海军陆战队征兵官，得知最早可以在17岁时，在父母同意的情况下入伍。尽管母亲非常担心我这么早就参军，但她还是同意了。我一满17岁，我们就去了征兵处。高中毕业几个月后，18岁的我被派往圣地亚哥海军陆战队新兵训练营。

通往飞行跑道的蜿蜒道路

完成新兵训练营（13周）和海军陆战队战斗训练（4周）后，我被派往彭萨科拉海军航空站，那里是海军航空训练中心（NATTC）的所在地，NATTC是海军航空兵训练的枢纽。在那里，我开始接受空中交通管制员的训练。每周一、周三和周五上课前，每个军事职业专长（MOS）都要进行晨练，通常包括大量的跑步和引体向上。体能训练结束后，我们会去食堂快速用餐。早餐后，每个军事职业专长会在营房外列队（空中交通管制员除外，我们在食堂外列队），各军事职业专长的排长会在列队几分钟后进行点名，以确保无人擅离职守（UA），然后列队前往教室。

大部分军事职业技能（MOS）课程都在一栋名为“巨型大楼”的大型两层建筑内的教室进行，这栋楼离食堂很近。但空中交通管制（ATC）学校的教学楼离食堂最远，大约有四分之一英里。ATC课程进行到大约三分之一的时候，我第三次考试不及格，被淘汰了。这门课程非常严格，淘汰率也很高。第一次考试前，我们班有14个学生；第一次考试后，只剩下6个了。

得知自己空中交通管制学校考试不及格，确实让我备受打击。但我没有自怨自艾，而是决定积极面对，保持乐观的态度。由于海军陆战队的需要，我被重新分配为弹射器机械师，而我对于新分配的军事职业专长（MOS）的选择没有任何发言权。

弹射座椅逃生课程分为“A”级和“C”级两个阶段。“A”级课程大约持续两个月。我的教员们讲解得非常透彻，让我能够透彻理解课程内容。“A”级课程是弹射座椅逃生系统（ECS）操作原理的入门课程，内容包括紧急逃生系统的基本操作理论、飞机维护的正确安全操作和注意事项、爆炸物处理、腐蚀控制、如何查阅/使用技术手册，以及正确使用地面支持设备，例如用于测试弹射座椅某些部件的A/M26U-4（NAN）氮气服务车，以及用于给飞机上的液氧瓶充气/补气的TMU-27/M液氧服务车。

在这次培训之前，我没有任何机械方面的经验，所以要学习各种各样的工具和设备对我来说简直是晴天霹雳。一开始我很难适应，但经历了一些挫折后，我开始慢慢掌握要领。每次讲解完一个主题后，我们都要参加笔试，然后还要在没有老师帮助的情况下完成课堂上讲解的维护任务。过程并不轻松，但我最终还是通过了所有考试。

从“A”学校毕业后，我接到命令前往弗吉尼亚州奥希阿纳海军航空站的“C”学校，接受F/A-18C平台的训练。我无法选择平台或“C”学校的地点，只能服从海军陆战队的安排。“C”学校为期四周，在那里我学习了F/A-18C的电子控制系统、弹射系统以及相关技术资料。

成为海军陆战队第232战斗攻击中队的“红魔”

在“C”级学校毕业前不久，我被要求从三个地点中选择驻地：东海岸、西海岸或海外。我们需要按意愿程度从高到低排列。大多数情况下，海军陆战队并不关心你想去哪里，他们只会把你派往需要的地方。就我个人而言，考虑到米拉马尔海军陆战队航空站 (MCAS Miramar) 靠近圣地亚哥且气候宜人，我认为它是最理想的驻地。至于各个单位的声誉，我很幸运地被分配到了我心仪的西海岸驻地，并加入了驻扎在米拉马尔海军陆战队航空站的 VMFA-232“红魔”中队。

刚加入新中队时，感觉有点不知所措。士官们全程协助我办理报到手续，确保我顺利完成所有入伍所需的事项。报到手续大约需要两到四周，之后我被分配到夜班。

夜班人员负责大部分的维护工作，因为除非有预定的演习或活动，否则通常很少或几乎没有飞行任务。所以对于一名新入行的维护人员来说，这是绝佳的训练环境。上夜班并不轻松，一天的工作时间通常超过13个小时，夜班的工作量也更大，而且如果你像我一样住在营房里，你的睡眠会整天受到固定翼飞机和旋翼飞机的干扰。

车间里的士官负责训练新兵，所以我跟着士官们学习，就像海绵一样尽可能多地吸收工作知识。这包括如何与其他车间沟通，如何向维修控制中心汇报工作进展，甚至包括如何在每天的维修会议上向军官们汇报我们车间的情况。

为了完成工作，我还得学会如何在维修部门里周旋，应对形形色色的人。在团队合作方面，有些部门比其他部门更容易沟通协作，这也影响了某些工作的完成速度。总的来说，每天都要应对这种既充满压力又颇具挑战性的局面。

从红魔到黑骑士

从原单位调到新单位对我来说，按照海军陆战队的官方流程来说相当容易，因为我只需要穿过机库就到了VMFA-314中队。但难就难在要离开我的战友们。好在314中队的战友们非常热情地欢迎我加入。

VMFA-232中队很快就要部署到中东，而我几个月后就要退役了，所以我不得不离开。就中队文化而言，我认为这两个单位之间存在相当大的差异。在VMFA-232，我们中队对悠久的历史和声誉更加自豪。我们的领导不断提醒我们，我们是海军陆战队第一个、历史最悠久、战功最卓著的战斗机中队，因此我们对自己的要求比飞行线上的其他单位更高。但这一切都是有代价的。232中队的战友情谊不如314中队那么深厚。

314号车间的同事们似乎相处得更好，也更乐于互相照应。虽然314号车间并不特别重视历史，但团队合作精神却更加明显。不像232号车间那样，各车间之间缺乏敌意。232号车间曾经历过一段领导层管理非常糟糕的时期，某些所谓的“领导”更关心的是个人晋升，而不是领导力。虽然我在314号车间短暂工作过一段时间，但我从未遇到过这种情况。

失去一位上司和一位朋友

许多飞行员都像耍大牌的明星，但萨林少校完全不是那样。塔吉·萨林少校是真正英雄和无私领导者的典范。即使到了生命的最后一刻，他仍然把别人放在第一位。

我第一次见到他是在我们一起执勤的时候。令我惊讶的是，他竟然知道我是谁，也知道我在哪个部门——说实话，这让我对他的人品有了初步的了解。对于我这样一个刚入伍的下士来说，他居然能认出我，这真的意义非凡。老实说，大多数军官根本不在乎什么三级士官。

当天晚些时候，我们一起值班时聊天，他问我喜不喜欢跑车。我当然喜欢，我当时才19岁，所以就说喜欢。没想到，他竟然提出让我开他的法拉利兜风！我表示感谢，但还是婉拒了——直到今天，我仍然后悔当初没接受他的邀请。

据我所知，坠机前他的惯性导航系统（INS）出现故障，加上低云/阴天，导致他对飞机实际飞行状态的感知能力下降。萨林少校的飞行技术堪称卓越。他曾是F/A-18“大黄蜂”战斗机的教官，飞行时间超过1500小时。

无论萨林少校多么忙碌，他总会抽出时间与每个人交谈，而且总是真诚待人。他从不关心你的军衔，也不在意你在哪个部门工作，即使你只是个低级士兵，他也会给予你尊重和礼遇。他是一位难得的优秀军官，能够认识他是一种莫大的荣幸。

联系编辑：Tyler@thedrive.com

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