ANCHORAGE -- Hearing the boom of a fighter jet is a normal occurrence for many Alaskans. In Anchorage, the fleet of F-22 Raptors from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) can regularly be seen in the skies.
Most days, active duty service members maintain the jets. However, on a handful of days each month, people like Amn Louis Velasco take care of the planes and prepare them for flight.
“Working on something like the Raptor is completely amazing,” said Velasco, a U.S. Air Force reservist who joined the military about three years ago and said being a member of the reserve allows him to keep his civilian job working for the municipality while also serving as a crew chief on JBER several times a month. “Being a mechanic on this great jet — that completely checked all the marks for me.”
Velasco is part of the 477th Fighter Group, which is entirely made up of reservists. Early Saturday morning, he prepared an F-22 for a training mission. He took a thorough look in and around the aircraft to ensure it was in perfect flying condition. He used a computer to keep track of everything that has been inspected and any problems that he might have noticed.
“I can look at the health of the aircraft [and] make sure everything is good to go,” he said.
When pilot Lt. Col. Clayton Johnson arrived, he walked around the plane with Velasco to ensure it is ready for flight.
Being a crew chief comes with significant responsibility; the estimated average cost of an F-22 — including research and development expenses — is nearly $340 million. Yet Velasco said his favorite part of the job isn’t working on one of the most expensive jets in the air.
“It’s the people, really. You can have the best job in the world, but if the people you’re working around don’t make it easy on you to enjoy your work, it’s really not going to matter too much,” he said.