good stuff...
Agreed. Sounds like the USAF version of crew chief. Many a times I had to ride brakes, or wash jets.
One trick I picked up was that if you were assigned to the wash rack, when you were done, was paint your face with brake dust. That way, when you reported back to your supervisor, he would see you were spent and send you home for the day.
Later, I could tell who knew my my trick, but i let let them off early as well.
It was a rough job washing f-16’s.