FOD walk keeps rescue group mission ready

  • Published
  • By Tech Sg.t Carlos J. Trevino
  • 943rd Rescue Group Public Affairs
More than three dozen rescue group members braved an early humid July morning at the 943rd Rescue Group's helicopter parking ramp to pick up very small objects that can cause millions of dollars in damages.

Foreign Object Debris, or FOD, occurs when small objects like rocks, screws and bolts appear on the aircraft parking ramp. FOD can be sucked into the intake of an aircraft with running engines.

Senior Master Sgt. David Heffernan, 943rd Maintenance Squadron quality assurance superintendant, stressed the importance of these walks. 

"Even a small bit of FOD can cause damage to an aircraft, so getting it before it causes damage is key," he said.

943rd MXS conduct FOD walks every day, however this was the first time the entire group was included in the morning FOD walk.

"We are going do it on a quarterly basis," he said. "The hope is to spark some life into the FOD program throughout the whole rescue group and not just the maintenance squadron," Heffernan said.

Helicopters, like the HH-60 G Pave Hawk the 943rd RQG flies, land and operate in heavy FOD environments.

"We are close to the Snowbird ramp, we have fighters that come in here, and if they suck the smallest rock into the engine it can cause thousands of dollars' worth of damage," he said. Our part is to make sure our ramp stays totally clean no matter what aircraft happens to be taxiing through here."

Long after the FOD walk was over, Master Sgt. Frederick Zobrist, HH-60G Pave Hawk production supervisor was still walking the area in front of the 943rd RQG hangar looking for FOD.

"It is always important to keep your eyes open as individuals," he said. "I always walk and keep my eyes down. This is more so for fighters than helicopters because we land and operate in dirt and rocks. It's the little pieces of metal and rocks that will get you."

FOD walks save the tax payers money and most importantly it saves time for the maintainers who don't have to spend hours fixing an aircraft damaged by FOD.

"If you FOD out an engine or cut a tire than you have to change a tire or fix an engine, that is a lot of money, maintenance and time," Zobrist said.

Even though the 943rd RQG is a small combat-search-and-rescue unit, Heffernan was impresses with the number of members that showed up for the morning FOD walk.

"Our next FOD walk is in October, and I hope to get more people," he said. "I am hoping that being out here on our walks, will encourage anyone to pick up objects; there will be less for us to pick up on our routine FOD walks."

For more photos, click here to view the slide show.

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