THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 29, 1995 TAG: 9511280336
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLENE CASON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Staff Sgt. Michael Cargill's work gets noticed when everything else goes wrong.
``We are the last chance for a pilot to live,'' Cargill said. ``Our work is so critical. The aircraft can be flying and, if everything else fails and the pilot has to eject, we're his last chance to live through it.''
That's one reason, Cargill says, his job is the best in the Air Force. Cargill supervises five airmen in a shop that inspects, maintains, repairs and packs survival equipment for three squadrons of F-15s, six C-21 Lear jets and a helicopter.
That equipment includes: ejection systems, recovery parachutes and ``drouge'' parachutes (used to stabilize the ejecting seat), survival vests, one-man life rafts, anti-G suits and ``poopy suits,'' an anti-exposure suit to prevent hypothermia if an airman goes down in water.
His is a small career field: 709 people in the Air Force.
After a 12-week basic training course learning about survival equipment, airmen are assigned a duty base, where they learn about the specific aircraft they will service. The specialty has three phases - apprentice, journeyman, craftsman - and airmen serve at least three years in the apprenticeship phase.
The worst thing about the job, Cargill said, is having to sew vinyl covers for general use on equipment located on the base. That type of sewing falls to his shop because it's equipped with machines that can sew through a 50-cent piece.
How often is an airman injured or killed due to a flaw in survival equipment?
``It would be very, very rare, I think,'' said Cargill. ``The equipment is actually over-engineered, so there is little chance of any error.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Graphic
ON THE JOB
Air Force Staff Sgt. Michael Cargill, 28
Job: Survival equipment craftsman
Duty station: 1st Equipment Maintenance Squadron, 1st Fighter Wing,
Langley Air Force Base
Years in military: 9
by CNB