Sure Fire 2005 puts USAFE's best to test in weapons loading

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jennifer Lindsey
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Winners in three award categories were announced today in U.S. Air Forces in Europe ’s Sure Fire 2005 weapons loading competition, held Aug. 24 and 25.

Team members from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, and Aviano AB, Italy, took home the top prizes.

Sure Fire 2005 features USAFE fighter-jet bomb and missile loaders working in three-man crews to load specific munitions configurations safely, accurately and within time limits.

Each crew is comprised of a 1-man, a 2-man and a 3-man position. The 1-man is the crew leader and ensures safe and accurate loading by ensuring his crewmembers follow the munitions loading checklist. The 2-man ensures the aircraft bomb racks and suspension equipment, and loading tools and equipment are prepared and in good working order. The 3-man ensures the bombs and missiles are safe and reliable, and drive the jammer, a vehicle used to put the heavier munitions in place.

The competition’s greatest challenges are not time or doing the work of loading, it’s maintaining focus when the unexpected happens, said Senior Airman Lucas Newman from Aviano AB.

“Despite what goes wrong, we have to keep a positive attitude and calmly figure out how to overcome the problem. If not, that’s when the team begins to break down, time ticks on and the game can be lost,” said Airman Newman, 31st Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-16C/D 3-man loadcrew member.

Aviano’s crew proved the words true when they ran into a paint “snag” which prevented one of the missiles from sliding into place smoothly.

“We just had to patiently work with it until it wasn’t a problem any more,” Airman Newman said.

It takes constant practice to prepare to handle the unexpected within the time limits, said Staff Sgt. Paul Sommerdyke of the 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Unit, because Sure Fire pushes loadcrews to complete their weapons configurations in less than half of the time they have to complete the job on an average workday.

“We practiced all sorts of loads every day for weeks for this competition. We don’t know what we’re going to be loading until the day of the event, so we have to be prepared for anything,” said Sergeant Sommerdyke, the F-16, Block 50 1-man loadcrew member.

Teamwork is the event’s main theme -- “no loader works alone,” said Master Sgt. David McBride, 493rd Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-15C loadcrew chief from RAF Lakenheath.

When one missile, the Aim-9 Sidewinder for example, weighs in at 190 pounds and is a gangly 9.5 feet long, it takes the muscle of all three crewmembers to carry the payload to the jet’s wing, hoist it gently up to about nose height and secure it in place. Because the clearance between the missile and the wing is only 2-3 inches, the whole crew has to be careful not to hit the wing with the missile.

“We all have to work together to keep it balanced. The front man, who has the lighter end, has to be careful not to lift the missile too quickly or it will knock us off balance,” said Staff Sgt. Jeremy Vonknoblauch, 493rd AMU F-15C loadcrew 1-man.

Dedication is another central theme. Weapons loading is only one of many tasks crews have in the average workday said Senior Airman Stephan Mitchell. High operations tempo and a demanding sortie schedule requires loaders to put in long hours of aircraft maintenance and performing other flightline dutites, such as aircraft marshaling or inspections, said the Sergeant Vonknoblauch, 52nd Maintenance Operations Squadron weapons and standardization technician.

“The A-10 takes a lot of maintenance because it’s such a mechanically demanding jet, but it’s still good at what it does. It’s like maintaining an old Mercedes,” said Staff Sgt. Collin Heine, 81st Aircraft Maintenance Unit 2-man.

In addition to garnering a trophy and earning bragging rights, the event inspires loaders to sharpen their skills so they can try out for the event, said Capt. Aaron Milner, 81st AMU assistant officer in charge and Sure Fire 2005 coordinator.

“The Air Force weapons community is a very tight knit group,” said the captain. “They love being around each other, especially competing with each other. Competitions like this sharpens their skills, showcases their abilities and they get command-level feedback on their performance.”

Sure Fire 2005 was held after a 13-year hiatus due to increased real-world deployments and operational funding demands.