The 176th Maintenance Operations Flight (MOF) provides all the metric, budget, and personnel management to provide mission-ready aircraft and personnel specializing in Combat Search and Rescue and Strategic Airlift for the 176th Wing. The men and women of the 176 MOF are responsible for daily statistical analysis of aircraft maintenance, managing all maintenance scheduling, providing over-sight for training of all assigned personnel, budget oversight, communication hub for all day-to-day maintenance actions, tracking and scheduling of all required maintenance for the most diverse Maintenance Group in the Air National Guard. Our aircraft, consisting of HC-130J and HH-60G 176th Wing aircraft plus Active Duty C-17 aircraft in an Associate Unit based at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (JBER), AK. Our MOF personnel have enabled these aircraft to be deployed all over the world.
The 176th Maintenance Operations Flight began as the 176th Logistics Support Flight (LSF) on 01 October 1995. We were renamed the MOF in 2000. We have received many awards to include The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.
The Combat Search and Rescue unit is one of the most active search and rescue units in the United States and consists of 4HC-130H3 Hercules and 6 HH-60G Pave-Hawk aircraft. The combined services of these aircraft have saved over 400 lives in 18 short years. Search and rescue includes a variety of missions: lost hunters, hikers or Alzheimer's patients; emergency locator transmitter signals; and missing aircraft. At home, rescue assets are routinely dispatched to provide aid and transportation to people needing medical attention in remote or isolated areas, for emergency organ or blood transportation, or for medical evacuations, when civilian resources are not available. The HC-130H3 flew 615 sorties and were credited with 28 people saved, 5 assists.
The HC-130 "Hercules" specializes in aerial refueling of the unit helicopters as well as aerial mission support. In addition to their busy schedule in Alaska, the HC's actively support world-wide taskings; deploying for OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, staged out of Djibouti, Africa, and multiple training exercises in the lower 48.
The HH-60 or "Pave hawk" is the heart of the rescue mission in Alaska. Our ability to constantly maintain the operational readiness of the Pave hawks allows them to be utilized not only for service to Alaska, but also to the nation for domestic and international purposes. The HH-60 section has deployed for OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan; Hong Kong SAREX; and Pacific Angel in recent years. Despite our geographical distance, we were selected for short-notice Hurricane Relief for Gustav/Ike in Texas, September 2008. Last year, the HH-60G section flew 956 sorties, crediting the unit with 46 people saved, five assists. None of which could have happened without the excellent care our MOF professionals.
The Tactical Airlift Section's 8 C-130H2 "Hercules" focuses on intra-theater airlift, specializing in air land and air drop operations; in essence providing people, supplies, and pallets anywhere and anytime. In the past, our members have supported OPERATIONS JOINT FORGE, ENDURING FREEDOM, and DEEP FREEZE as well as various Temporary Duty missions.
In September of 2007, our mission grew when the second largest airframe of the USAF was added to our maintenance family. The Strategic Airlift section's (8) C-17 "Globemasters" have hit the ground running, flying more than 1400 hours in their first year of operation to world-wide destinations including Hawaii and the Middle East. The addition of the Strategic Airlift mission has added a valuable tool to our rescue mission as we now have the capability to move our own helicopter and maintainers to and from emergency and deployment locations, as was demonstrated during OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008.
Parent Unit
The 176th Maintenance Operations Flight is a component of the 176th Maintenance Group.
Contact Information
Office phone: (907) 551-7629
DSN: (317) 551-7629
Location
16468 Airlifter Drive
JBER, AK 99506