WHAT AM I LOOKING AT? 3 QUESTIONS IN OIL ANALYSIS

I promise this is an article on oil analysis.

- 

"Captain Ross," the colonel yelled as he held up a freshly unearthed piece of metal. "What am I looking at?" "Colonel, that's part of the right rear strake," I told him while adjusting my chemical warfare gear.

One hundred miles behind the Republican Guard during the Gulf War was not aplace you could hurry to get your chem-gear on if you had to. Not for an Air Force officer, very unaccustomed to being this close to the enemy or to carrying an M-16.

"How do you know?" the colonel asked while examining an almost indistinguishable hunk of junk.

"Because," I said, "I know every single part of this airplane."

The airplane was a crashed Air Force asset. currently spread out over two miles of unforgiving wasteland that was now ours to investigate. We had about eight hours on the ground before the Navy Seals came back for us. One hundred miles behind enemy lines, a lost aircraft, two miles of scattered and charred evidence, wearing full chem gear, five Air Force officers (with guns), eight hours on the clock, and we had to figure out why this plane crashed. No pressure.

We didn't have a lot of equipment, but what we did have was incredible analytical skills.

From that spot and piece of airframe, we could reconstruct exactly how the aircraft impacted the ground and came apart. An entire investigation was conducted. reported, and filed and advancements in aviation warfare were made because of the absolute recognition of what we were looking at.

I don't have many great war stories, and even fewer that I might use as a pseudo-segue into maintenance and reliability. But, I hope you'll agree that being certain of what you are looking at can get you closer to a successful conclusion. How certain are you of what you're looking at?