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Senior Airman Daniel Striggles, a 49th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels facilities operator, and Senior Airman Christopher Benavente, a 49th LRS fuel cryogenics operator, fill a cart with liquid nitrogen at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. on May 5, 2017. Cryogenics operations involve servicing liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen to Holloman’s aircraft. The liquid oxygen is pure, almost 99 to 100 percent oxygen, which Holloman’s F-16 pilots breathe during flight, and liquid nitrogen is used for tire services to aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexis P. Docherty)

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170505-F-AM897-092

Senior Airman Daniel Striggles, a 49th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels facilities operator, and Senior Airman Christopher Benavente, a 49th LRS fuel cryogenics operator, fill a cart with liquid nitrogen at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. on May 5, 2017. Cryogenics operations involve servicing liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen to Holloman’s aircraft. The liquid oxygen is pure, almost 99 to 100 percent oxygen, which Holloman’s F-16 pilots breathe during flight, and liquid nitrogen is used for tire services to aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexis P. Docherty)

Airman 1st Class Derek King, a 54th Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-16 crew chief, performs recovery operations on an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. on May 4, 2017. Crew chiefs perform a variety of maintenance tasks from oil servicing and tire checks to readying a jet for flight. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexis P. Docherty)

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Airman 1st Class Derek King, a 54th Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-16 crew chief, performs recovery operations on an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. on May 4, 2017. Crew chiefs perform a variety of maintenance tasks from oil servicing and tire checks to readying a jet for flight. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexis P. Docherty)

Airman 1st Class Derek King, a 54th Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-16 crew chief, performs recovery operations on an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. on May 4, 2017. “The most rewarding aspect of being a crew chief is simply watching the F-16s take off, and knowing that you had hands on that jet—that you might have been the one that launched it out or you might have done some maintaining on it,” King said. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexis P. Docherty)

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170503-F-AM897-143

Airman 1st Class Derek King, a 54th Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-16 crew chief, performs recovery operations on an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. on May 4, 2017. “The most rewarding aspect of being a crew chief is simply watching the F-16s take off, and knowing that you had hands on that jet—that you might have been the one that launched it out or you might have done some maintaining on it,” King said. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexis P. Docherty)

Airman 1st Class Derek King, a 54th Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-16 crew chief, refuels an F-16 Fighting Falcon following a recovery operation at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. on May 4, 2017. The 54th AMU runs 24 hour operations. Therefore, Holloman’s maintenance Airmen work round-the-clock to keep these aircraft operable, performing a variety of mechanical and technical duties. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexis P. Docherty)

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Airman 1st Class Derek King, a 54th Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-16 crew chief, refuels an F-16 Fighting Falcon following a recovery operation at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. on May 4, 2017. The 54th AMU runs 24 hour operations. Therefore, Holloman’s maintenance Airmen work round-the-clock to keep these aircraft operable, performing a variety of mechanical and technical duties. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexis P. Docherty)

Airman 1st Class Derek King, a 54th Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-16 crew chief, performs maintenance on an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. on May 3, 2017. The 54th AMU runs 24 hour operations. Therefore, Holloman’s maintenance Airmen work round-the-clock to keep these aircraft operable and flying. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexis P. Docherty)

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Airman 1st Class Derek King, a 54th Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-16 crew chief, performs maintenance on an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. on May 3, 2017. The 54th AMU runs 24 hour operations. Therefore, Holloman’s maintenance Airmen work round-the-clock to keep these aircraft operable and flying. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexis P. Docherty)

HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. – Holloman’s 54th Aircraft Maintenance Airmen work tirelessly to keep the F-16 Fighting Falcon, a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft, flying high above New Mexico’s desert.

Responsibilities of F-16 crew chiefs range from maintenance duties to oil servicing and checking tires. Similar to any aircraft, an F-16 can be damaged or break down unexpectedly. The ‘health’ of an F-16 is dependent upon its maintainers.

“These jets are a lot like humans,” said Airman 1st Class Derek King, a 54th Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-16 crew chief. “[Being a crew chief] is kind of like being a doctor, but on an aircraft. The jet might be feeling good that day--he might go up and down without any problems and your day is a lot easier. But, if he comes down and something is wrong, then it has to be fixed. You can do all the things that our technical data prepares us for, as far as making sure the aircraft is ready to fly, but you never can predict how it is going to come back.”

The 54th AMU runs 24 hour operations, covering three shifts—days, swings and mids. Maintainers perform a wide-range of tasks during these shifts.

“On any given eight hour shift, you might spend six of those hours out here on your aircraft,” King said. “On a day or swing shift schedule: you come in, and you do not know what your turn-over is going to tell you. Whenever you get that turn-over, your day is either going to go really well or you are going to be super busy. Either way, you never know what you are going to get. It always keeps you curious.”

This inability to foretell what is going to happen on a given shift is what makes maintenance work mentally and physically taxing for some Airmen.

“The most difficult aspect of being a crew chief is not knowing what is going to happen,” King said. “You can prepare for a shift, but you never come to work knowing exactly what you are going to be doing. Some people love it and some people hate it. I think society, as a whole, likes routines—that is human nature.

Editor's note: The original story can be viewed on the Holloman Air Force Base website.

54th Aircraft Maintenance Unit Holloman Air Force Base F-16 maintenance liquid nitrogen