WEBVTT

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- [Sarah] Erecting a whole airbase is no easy feat.

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Nor is maintaining one or even drawing down one.

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However, engineering airmen do it all

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starting at the absolute beginning with blueprints.

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- So with the autocap program,

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we use that to just create floor plans,

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we use that to have everything up to date

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with the floor plans on base.

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We have as-builts from about the 40s,

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as long as the base has been around.

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- [Sarah] After blueprints are confirmed,

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construction can begin.

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Engineering may not actually build the structures,

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but they ensure that all work is according to plan.

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- First thing we did today is we went out

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to the JTEC's facility to make sure that the Air Force

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is getting the grade of steel and equipment

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that was being installed in there that it paid for.

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Quality assurance, quality control

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is the main goal that we do

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when we go out and do construction inspections.

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- [Sarah] The engineering airmen of Misawa Airbase

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are all a part of geo base and are responsible

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for keeping the base map updated as well.

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It's a very exact task and they have the tools for the job.

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- [Robert] The second bit we did was topographic surveying.

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The tell station shoots out a prism

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and using the speed of light constant,

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it can tell how far away it is.

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The tell station also has a lot of devices inside of it

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to measure the angles that it's turned,

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both horizontally and vertically as well

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which give it a precise location on the Earth.

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- [Sarah] Whether it's an aircraft hangar,

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a runway, or anything else in between

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an engineering airmen had their hand in creating

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and maintaining it.

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- Behind the desk, sometimes you feel

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like you don't impact the mission directly.

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But we do it all from cradle to grave.

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- [Sarah] Senior Airman Sarah Mitchell,

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Misawa Airbase, Japan.