MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif -- Most people may associate cryogenics with the futuristic concept of preserving people with sub-zero temperatures. They may not realize that cryogenics is actually an integral asset in the aviation community.
The cryogenics technicians with Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 11, tucked away at the east end of the flightline, provide the 3rd Marine Air Wing with vital assets that allow pilots to fly, missiles to fire and aircraft to land safely.
“Nobody knows much about us until our plants malfunction and we can’t do our jobs,” said Cpl. George-Anthony A. Dulal-Whiteway, a MALS-11 cryogenics technician. “But once we can’t make oxygen or nitrogen, everyone realizes how tied into the squadron we are.”
Cryogenics Marines learn their trade during a four-month course taught at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. Course instructors teach the Marines to run plants that produce liquid oxygen and nitrogen by pulling elements from the atmosphere. Students also learn to use an analyzer to test the purity of oxygen.
“We learn the majority of our job at school, but don’t do our hands-on training until we get to our first unit,” said Sgt. Joshua Willoughby, a phase one instructor with the cryogenics section of MALS-11.
The cryogenics technicians work with experienced Marines to learn the break down and basic repair of their equipment. They also learn to fill tanks, take product samples and issue equipment to squadrons.
“The most important part of our job is learning to use our plants to produce liquid oxygen and nitrogen,” said Willoughby. “We have to monitor them constantly; they are our life source.”
The plants compress air into liquid and separate molecules to create either liquid oxygen or nitrogen, added Willoughby.
Cryogenics Marines use the plants to fill a 400-gallon tank with liquid oxygen, a process that can take almost 24 hours, and then fill smaller 50-gallon tanks that they issue to the squadron. Once squadrons have the smaller tanks, they fill liquid oxygen converters, which attach to F/A-18 fighter jets and convert the liquid oxygen into a gaseous form that is 99.5 percent pure for pilots to breath. Because the expansion ratio of oxygen from liquid to gas is 1-to-860, the LOX converters are relatively small, holding ten liters of liquid oxygen.
Squadron personnel use nitrogen to fill helicopter propeller blades, which makes them lighter while also allowing them to maintain rigidity. Squadrons also pump nitrogen into landing gear on helicopters and jets so that friction caused by landing will not cause the tires to explode. Flightline personnel also pump nitrogen into the LAU-7 missile launching system to cool an aircraft’s wing after launching ordnance.
While deployed, cryogenic technicians work constantly to accommodate the increased work tempo that accompanies operating in a war zone.
“We use a lot of air support in Iraq and Afghanistan, so we had to run our plants all day, everyday, just to keep up with the demand,” said Dulal-Whiteway, referring to his time spent in Iraq. “We supported our squadron, units in Afghanistan, Army units, Russian units and Navy units. We were helping a lot of people.”
Although they worked constantly, not all of the cryogenic technicians’ time in Iraq was work. They did manage to have some fun.
“The best part about our job there was when we took the frost of the plant piping to make snowballs,” said Lance Cpl. Matthew Derosia, a cryogenics technician with MALS-11. “It was shocking for people to get hit with a snowball when it was 120 degrees outside.”