Marine general thanks 388th Fighter Wing Airmen

  • Published
  • By Andrea Houck
  • 388th Public Affairs
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --  Maj. Gen. Thomas Conant, commanding general of the Third Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, arrived here Aug. 4 to see the results of joint repair work on a V-22 Osprey.

Conant thanked the five Airmen of the 388th Fighter Wing responsible for acquiring the proper supplies, logistics and equipment needed to repair the joint service, multi-role combat aircraft.

Senior Master Sgt. Tracy Rau, Master Sgt. Gerhard Pieper, Tech. Sgt. Rennel Sangria, Senior Airman Jared Rice and Airman 1st Class Jason Graham shook hands with Conant upon his arrival to the hangar and received a challenge coin for their service and dedication.

"This visit is phenomenal; the teamwork here has been great, too," Conant said. "No one said 'no' when it came time to help us out, and it's really nice to know they were here to assist."

For Pieper, hosting the repair was a good experience that does not happen too often.

"There's been a lot of good, joint integration here, and this has been an excellent learning experience providing the necessary logistics for fixing the aircraft at our home station," Pieper said.

A repair engineer with the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command showed Conant the piece of the aircraft that needed repair.

Michael Fella, a member of the fleet support team working on the aircraft, said the Osprey had maintenance problems after a high-impact landing during a routine training exercise.

Conant wrapped up his visit with a tour of the repair hangar.

It has been confirmed that the general will receive a third star and is also slated to become the first Marine to serve as deputy commander of U.S. Pacific Command.

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