Success Here = Success There -- Robins sends first expedited gunship home early Published Feb. 12, 2016 By Jenny Gordon 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Behind every successful aircraft production story at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, there are countless contributions of team members who help make it happen. There's the recent case of an Air Force Special Operations Command's AC-130U gunship that was produced here in a record 100 days -- well under AFSOC's requirement of 152 days. It returned to its customer at Hurlburt Field, Florida, on Saturday. The last time Robins produced a gunship at record pace was in February 2009. That was at 128 days. This latest world-class team effort couldn't have happened without the enterprise team of partners from the Defense Logistics Agency and its vital supply chain role, the 402nd Commodities Maintenance Group, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center System Program Office, various maintenance support agencies, nondestructive inspection testing teams and many others. The current high demand of AC-130U gunships and MC-130H Combat Talons flying worldwide missions means there's a direct need for increased aircraft availability, known as the C-130 Air Force Special Operations Command Acceleration Plan. The first gunship was produced by a team from the 560th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron -- the first of six accelerated AFSOC planes scheduled at Robins in fiscal 2016. A second MC-130H is currently on station. "This aircraft is a shining example of what you can do with a well-formed team and a well-thought out plan, and it goes to show what this workforce can produce," said Jake Dickson, C-130 AFSOC Acceleration Flight Chief. "This really was a far-reaching effort to plan this aircraft out to the tiniest detail to synchronize everything for success." During its temporary home at the depot, it was fully de-painted, and received extensive metal bond repairs and structural maintenance repairs due to corrosion issues. It had also sustained significant dents caused by hail damage. "These aircraft fly on a regular basis, so there's a lot of wear and tear on them, a lot of corrosion from normal use," said Kevin Johnson, AFSOC Acceleration Flight PDM dock supervisor. Nearly 50 mechanics are dedicated to the accelerated line, working three shifts, five days a week. "We have a very highly skilled, highly trained and highly motivated team who are excited about this program," said Johnson, adding that while speed was important, safety and quality were never sacrificed. "We're very proud of them," he added. "Everyone's dedication and commitment was overwhelming." Jim Russell, 560 AMXS director, explained that accelerated work on this first gunship required a network of support. That included ensuring the aircraft had the required personnel to work on it and ensuring it was fully supportable with required parts prior to its arrival. On the significance of its return overseas, one only has to turn on the news to see the impact these aircraft have on world events. That impact can be traced back to Robins personnel who touched the aircraft at some point in its service life. With a second Combat Talon already here, two more are scheduled to arrive this fiscal year at Robins, along with two additional gunships. "Now that we've proven we can do this work, we're going to take on additional accelerated aircraft," said Russell. "When we show that we can accelerate an airplane and we can cut flow days off, that's huge to the viability of Robins Air Force Base."