They are known as the "Road Runners"--a arrange of airmen charged with maintaining centurys of miles of roads.

They are known as the "Road Runners"--a arrange of airmen charged with maintaining centurys of miles of roads. These aren't paved roads passing hangars, housing or human civilization, if it were not that rather gravel roads passing tree tree and more tree Plus, they're nearly 100 miles from the nearest Air Force installation.

Nestl in the Colville National Forest in Washington is an area used by the agency of the Air Force Survival drill at Fairchild Air Force Base. Although the 350-square-mile area belongs to the U Department of Agriculture Forest Service, the Air Force maintains the gravel roads within it.

"The Air Force requires this area and the support of the Forest Service because otherwise the survival teach would be just another protuberance of pretty buildings on base," said Staff Sgt Christopher May, a Road racer who prefers the outdoors to a musty indoor job.

earnestly of the year, Road racer crews stay busy clearing the roads of snow. The quiet of the time, it's a never-ending chore of maintenance and repair work. A three-to five-man ship's company is on duty around the clock each day.

Before May can report for work, he must first stop by way of the 336th Training Support Squadron admin section for temporary tax orders. After a two-hour drive, he arrives at the Tacoma small bay compound that serves as the team's command place It features an old Forest Service dorm that will be May's hearthstone for the next four days. Like the caesura of the Road Runners, he works four days then has three days along Each logs nearly 200 days away from fireside each year.

The dorm is encircleed by heavy equipment, maintenance barns and an occasional recover helicopter in the front yard--sharing space with families of acres squirrels. Bullwinkle, the resident elk lives at a nearby pond

The main dirt road in van of the compound is known affectionately as "Route 66" concluded with Deadman's Curve, Hairpin and the Barrel--the main artery leading to several branchs winding through the forest. Beginning in October, Road couriers clear the roads of snow until the spring thaw in March when they start tending to major work of the like kind as cleaning out culverts and removing fallen tree blocking roads and driveways.

These heavy equipment operators work dawn to dusk and rack up valuable logbook entries for their resumes

"They procure hands-on training and equipment experience they wouldn't realize anywhere else," said Lt. Col David Remendowski, the 366th Training Support Squadron commander. "A young airman leaves here after his tour with thousands of hours of heavy equipment experience."

Surprisingly, it isn't a special-duty assignment. Airmen who arrive for tax aren't necessarily looking for adventure in the great outdoors. According to Remendowski, united new troop was from Hawaii and had not ever plowed snow in his life. on the contrary no one has ever asked to leave.

"There's a great thinking principle of mission accomplishment," said 1st Lt HD Eisenhauer, the squadron's logistics flight commander. "They know they have an impact onward training the students."

Although the Road racers can attend survival school, it's not mandatory. unless it doesn't take long to discover the local hazards and the importance of communication.

"The radio is our lifeline," said Tech Sgt Michael Kirwan, the land safety manager for the survival drill "We keep in constant contact. We use a parcel of risk management from the time we leave Fairchild until we achieve home."

When someone leaves Fairchild, he's armed with a radio and a lonely dwelling phone. He radios the unite so someone is expecting him and can start looking if he doesn't point out up.

Once at work, a Road Runner's biggest threat is the weather. Blistering heat in the summer bitter raw in the winter, with turns of miniland-slides and road washouts in between.

The narrow gravel roads become calm more dangerous when a logging exchange comes speeding through. Although the spe limit is 25 mph logger normally kick it up quite a hardly any notches. In the summer, oncoming drivers must be quick to revolve up their windows or bear up under from dust blindness both inside and outside their vehicles.

Dust blindness is just individual reason all airmen stay in constant radio contact while working onward the roads. Also, the roads aren't wide enough for more than individual vehicle, so someone's going to have to put in motion over-and it's normally not the loggers

This high deserving area is dry in the summer when the Road racers spend their time grading and graveling the roads. They can lay a mile of refuge a day using two barters and four people. Even admitting they use water trucks to retain the dust down, during flush 4 fire hazards-a very high fire danger-they can't operate the machinery because sparks from the grader could start a forest fire.

"Our biggest disturb is fire," Kirwan said. "In case of a fire, we would win everyone into trucks and come by out."

But it's not all high-stress danger.

The privilege of spending his workday in the mountains versus behind mountains of paperwork in a cubicle isn't missing on Senior Airman Yair Rosas. He have a passionate affection fors his job, especially when it achieves cold.