WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFLCMC) – For Air Force Life Cycle Management Center lieutenants and captains with engineering backgrounds and a desire to put their engineering expertise to practical field use, Major Jordan Shimabukuro with the  Aircraft Battle Damage Repair Engineering Office (Engineering Directorate) wants to speak with you.

Appearing in a AFLCMC “Leadership Log” podcast discussion, Major Shimabukuro said his program is “actively seeking” junior officers to apply for the ABDRE certification process, which can provide them “operational experience in the field, working on a variety of platforms, from bombers, tankers, fighters, cargo, [and] rotary, just to name a few.”

When applying their skills and knowledge, ABDRE-trained officers focus on restoring flight capabilities to aircraft through sound structural analysis and calculations to repair damaged warfighters and get assets back into the fight as soon as possible, with the smallest team possible. 

ABDRE certification requires three courses and an exercise, hosted at AFLCMC locations near the Air Logistics Complex at Tinker, Hill, and Robins Air Force Bases. 

Speaking about his training experience, 1st Lt. Travis Everage described having “the opportunity to put an axe through a decommissioned F-16,” before having to repair the damage as an exercise.

“We created that damage and then we patched it up using the methods we were taught in the technician course,” such as evaluating structural integrity, he said in the Leadership Log discussion. 

Each course lasts two weeks long and it may take about six months to complete the series.

Officers that successfully complete the ABDRE certification program will then have opportunities to apply for 6 month Deployments or Extended Temporary Duty (TDY) as a Depot Liaison Engineer at CENTCOM and INDOPACOM theater locations or participate in military exercises utilizing ABDR operations.

According to 1st Lt. Samantha Majchrzak, ABDRE Site Lead at Tinker Air Force Base, ABDRE-certified officers “all work together when it comes to figuring out solutions,” and “learn how to incorporate yourself with a maintenance team” to repair the damaged aircraft quickly. 

ABDRE “gives you the ability to be hands-on while using your brain. And I think that’s just one of those great moments that most engineers don’t get that opportunity.”

For 1st Lt. Sarah Yankech, ABDRE Site Lead at Hill Air Force Base, ABDRE certification has given her the chance to earn additional certifications in advanced composites. 

She’s also participated in joint exercises, both with the U.S. military and international partners. While on a joint exercise in Australia, Yankech engaged with other militaries and provided them the knowledge to enhance their ABDR-equivalent programs. 

“They don’t have the exact same program of what we have, and so they’re very interested in learning from us about what we do and how they could possibly kind of learn from us and implement what we do,” she stated in the podcast.

To apply for ABDRE training, active duty officers (O1-O3) with Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSC) 62X with a Mechanical, Aerospace, or Aeronautical Engineering degrees can apply to the ABDRE office by sending an email to [email protected]. All other engineering backgrounds go through a waiver process before acceptance into the program.

The formal application process happens in four steps: 

** Step 1: Email program office with intent to apply.

** Step 2: Following acceptance, volunteer receives ABDRE MFR for respective commander and member’s signatures.

** Step 3: ABDRE program office receives signed MFR and routes to Engineering Directorate, AFLCMC/EN-EZ for final approval.

** Step 4: ABDRE Training Manager schedules ABDRE volunteer for the four courses by availability.

Interested applicants should expect an initial email response within 48 hours of their email being received.