Staff Sgt. Brian Petrine

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Lucretia Cunningham

"There’s just no better feeling than when the pilot is up there because of what you do. The pilot is showcasing your work, and hearing the loud noise when it flies by is very gratifying.

We are the [mechanics] of the flightline, for any and everything that happens to the aircraft. The pilots can’t come out of the seat and fix it. We as crew chiefs are elected to identify, solve, troubleshoot, and fix any issue the pilot is having with the jet or any problem the jet tells us it’s having.

We are there to change parts and turn the wrench, but it’s more than that. We are the men and women on the ground who launch the pilot out and receive them when they return.

And the mission doesn’t stop because something happened.

Regardless of what’s going on, we all signed on that dotted line to say no matter what, we will be there for our nation. If we took a day off, what does that say to our adversaries?

We’re taking precautions to lessen people’s chances of exposure, but we’re not just going to pack up and leave -- we have to keep moving.

Most places are shut down, and people are working from home and despite the current situation, people should know the military has their back. We’re not giving up, we’re still working, and we’ll continue to work even after everything clears up."

-Staff Sgt. Brian Petrine, 192nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron F-22 crew chief