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Show survival HILL TOP TIMES A , V i, M 13 November 13, 19t7 . v-- " ' fiipissiiiiil ( X. 4 r v, U.S. Air Force Photos by TSgt. Jerold W. Hawkins Hook up Sergeant Davidson connects a helmet hose to test equipment. ' Their job is to ensure everything a pilot depends on for survival works their mission is: from helmets to r)Lf, L ? vj '-- V r ( G-sui- ts, By TSgt. According to Sergeant Davidson, Jerald W. Hawkins 388th TFW Public Affairs life support people must go Office one gone are the days when pilots were sent aloft "on a wing and a prayer." The technology of aviator survival has advanced with today's sophisticated aircraft. And, the people at the 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron's life support section have a grasp on this technology giving pilots every hand-in-han- d chance of survival. a the Is best to provid job life support flying equipment to our pilots," said MSgt. Richard C. Davidson; noncommissioned officer in charge of life support. "We do this all the time whether it's during mobility, situations, training missions or even actual combat." "Our The section's seven survival-mindepeople take their jobs seriously. "We're accountable for ensuring the proper working order of everything related to pilot survival from antigravity suits to whistles," Sergeant Davidson said. The sergeant said the ultimate goal of the people in his section was to allow pilots to fly, fight "and defend our way of life anywhere they're needed under the safest possible conditions. We do this by knowing how our survival equipment works and making sure it does work when needed," he through the same survival classes as pilots. "We need the same better understand what they will be going through in a situation. "And, after we're certified in these classes," said Sergeant Davidson, "we also conduct annual survival training locally." One area of survival training taught by the life support crew is water survival, which is conducted at Pineview Reservoir in Ogden cycles," "Inspections ran In said Sergeant Burke. An example y checks of this cycle is the on helmets. "By exainining four different helmets every day, we complete the inspection on all our helmets within that time limit. Then, we start all over again." 30-da- He said another important inanspection is that done on the "During tigravity suits inautomatically the flight, flates for high gravity turns to keep the pilot's blood pressure constant throughout his body." The suit is tested by blowing up if it will rethe device and seeing -minute: main inflated .rr. (G-suit- G-su- s). it . f-- v" A ' life-threateni- ng . d said. According to SSgt. Daniel J. Burke, assistant noncommissioned officer in charge of the section, the equipment his people maintain is under constant scrutiny. Sergeant Burke was the sole life support representative on the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing's Gunsmoke '87 team at Nellis AFB, Nev. ' knowledge and skills of survival as the pilots. It's essential so we can Canyon. "We show pilots what to do if they parachute into water," said Sergeant Burke. First comes a couple of hours of classroom instruction. Then pilots are put into the water wearing all their survival gear. "This is to iv thorn an idea of what it's like to be dragged through water by their parachute. We actually drag them through the water with a boat, while they are in their parachute harness," Sergeant Burke said. "They get to practice staying afloat by bending their legs like they are instructed to, getting out of their harness and into a raft, and finally, retrieving their survival IT " P& 7-TT- V 1 "jK equipment." Sergeant Davidson spares no, modesty when describing the people he works with. "Our folks do a superb job. But if you consider they have the entire life support role for the 421st's flying operations in their hand, they have no choice." - tions equipment. SrA. Craig L. Clement (bottom left) inventories and inspects contents of a survival kit. Amn. Stacy A. Parker (bottom right) inflates an antigravity suit. . . ' Doing the job Sergeant Burke (top photo) tests a portable survival radio: Sergeant Davidson (left) connects a lightweight helmet to test equipment to test oxygen and communica- CD i . |