The Air Force died by large numbers when they were part of the Army, but not since.
I'll take a Staff Sergeant leading his maintenance troops in -30 degree F temps trying to fix a Minuteman missile than anyone else. The Air Force troops have brains and are tasked to use them to protect this country, many in climates you would shudder to be in.
It is easier to do that rare activity than to be living long term as a combat arms soldier, outdoors in those conditions.
Have you ever tried to get your car fixed in the driveway in freezing weather so you can get to work?
USAF/Navy mechanics work in all kinds of weather to get the birds back in the air to support the infantry.
Every service has its share of REMFs. The Army is no exception.
I won’t lie, there were many nights during the winter months I had wished we had indoor maintenance facilities to fix aircraft, but that wasn’t and for the most part, isn’t the case.
We fix ‘em where they are and in whatever weather is occurring. With the exception of lightning w/in 3 miles, then we got chased off the line.
IYAMYAS!!
SZ
Haven't seen many other service troops out there doing it for the past 40 years. The ICBM maintenance troops are out there every day. In the winter, maintenance operations take at least twice as long to perform. It can take as much as four hours to just penetrate a Launch Facility when you have to chip ice and shovel snow just to get to the A and B plugs.
A normal can change (guidance system replacement) will take 12 hours in the winter and even once they are inside the Launch Facility the cold topside floods down into the launcher and makes things pretty nasty.
Except for the Battle of the Bulge and training, Air Force troops have historically spent more time in those kinds of adverse weather conditions than the Army. I won't even go into the aircraft maintenance types that are stationed in the hinterlands of Alaska at the forward operating bases even today.