Photo by Lance Cpl. Jahn R. Kuiper Maintenance Marines of the Marine Helicopter Squadron 1 tow a CH-53E following inspection March 2.

‘‘HMX is unique to the Marine Corpsbecause we have everything we need to support the squadron right here,” said Gunnery Sgt. Chad Stewart, the airframes division chief. ‘‘We have Marines who do things such as avionics, air frames, basic organizational and intermediate level work.

‘‘For our mission to support the president at HMX, we have to have all the capabilities on hand, so we can have a quick turnaround in case he calls,” Stewart said.

Many squadrons don’t have a non-destructive inspection technician right on hand who can inspect an aircraft and diagnose problems without taking it apart, said Stewart. Since HMX-1 has the capabilities to do the inspections here, they don’t have to send the aircraft to Cherry Point or wait on ordering equipment. It saves time and money.

With all these different shops, it is maintenance control’s responsibility to organize the Marines in different shops so they can keep the birds flying.

‘‘We make sure maintenance is completed in a timely, orderly fashion so pilots can get in their flight time and complete the squadron’s mission,” Gunnery Sgt. Bobby Akers, maintenance controller. ‘‘We make sure inspections are done at intervals toensure everything is in order. We make sure we are not overflying parts. Just like any other equipment, they can expire. All the data is recorded and we look for different trends that could be issues, such as glitches in the avionics of the aircraft. Our whole goal is to be able to release the aircraft so thepilots and the aircraft are safe.”

Since part of HMX-1’s mission is flying the president, extra effort is put into the aesthetics of the aircrafts.

‘‘Our job is more detail oriented here,” said Cpl. Desiree Embrey, an airframer.

‘‘We maintain the same strict maintenance guidelines that are anywhere you go, but we have to make sure the aircraft looks pretty. It’s not just that we’re looking at the parts, but the whole country is.”

The pursuit of a picture-perfect aircraft can be difficult.

‘‘We spend a lot of time on the finish of the aircraft, which can be hard,” Embrey said. ‘‘The public expects a perfect finish” every time Marine One touches down and the president steps out.

The Marines who work to keep the presidential helicopters flying and looking good are motivated by their job.

‘‘There is an extra pride we have here,” Stewart said. ‘‘Not everyone can come here. You have to be chosen. It’s cool to say we work for the presidential squadron and support him.”

— Correspondent: jahn.kuiper@usmc.mil