Mission Spotlight Armament: Arming Aviano's mission

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Matthew Lotz
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  A day-to-day operation for the 31st Munitions Squadron's armament section includes one of the final step in preparing the F-16 Fighting Falcon for the 31st Fighter Wing's flying mission.

The armament Airmen are responsible for loading all weapons onto the aircraft, performing function checks and repairing any munitions that may need last minute maintenance.

"The ammo troops build the munitions and we put them on the aircraft," said Tech. Sgt. Famous Williams, 31st MUNS armament floor chief.

"Without armament, the jets would have zero combat capability," said Staff Sgt. Austin Mallory, 31st MUNS armament team chief. "We ensure that the guns fire, the racks drop ordnances and every piece of equipment is combat ready, if called upon."

The repair shop and load shop host armament Airmen at Aviano Air Base, located on different sides of the flightline. The different Air Force specialty codes are responsible for different day-to-day tasks, but both are considered a part of the armament flight.

One small back-shop unit is home to the repair shop maintainers. These maintainers are responsible for inspecting and repairing approximately 1,500 different parts of equipment. They perform yearly function checks on Aviano's F-16 equipment to include weapon pylons, missile launchers and the aircraft's gun system. Although a majority of the maintenance is scheduled, some parts may need immediate attention.

"We take care of all the scheduled weapons maintenance for the fighter wing," said Staff Sgt. Tayvaughn Brown, 31st MUNS armament team chief. "Sometimes though, an aircraft's weaponry may need to be looked at right away, in which case, we can repair it on the flightline to get that aircraft back out there."

The load shop Airmen are referred to as flightline loaders. These armament Airmen are responsible for the loading and unloading munitions and equipment. They also inspect and remove any munitions' parts on the aircraft that needs maintenance and deliver for repair.

"We support the mission by loading all types of munitions, making the wing's aircraft combat ready," said Senior Master Sgt. Eric Markel, 510th Aircraft Maintenance Unit weapons superintendent. "The relationship between the shops is that they handle all scheduled and unscheduled maintenance on the equipment that helps attach munitions that we load to the aircraft."

Even though they find themselves in different aspects of the armament section at Aviano, both shops come together during deployments.

"We take a mini shop during our deployments," said Williams "We will try and include all skill levels to make sure everyone gets the experience."

"On deployments, our guys take everything they have learned and put it to use," said Markel. "An example of this is when we are loading a missile onto an aircraft downrange and it won't attach properly. That's when the other shop will step in and help fix it."

Deployments and Aviano's around-the-clock mission can be stressful at times for some Airmen, but for these munitions Airmen, Air Force Instruction 21-201 states: "Personnel selected for munitions control duties must adapt well to stress."

Armament leadership enjoys keeping the spirits high between both shops. They have squadron competitions including a blue suit award that recognizes the top performer each month and a weapon loading competition every quarter to distinguish the fastest, yet proficient, weapons team.

While awards and recognition are nice, according to the Airmen, the best part is watching an aircraft take off with their munitions. With mission-ready jets capable of flying at any time, these Airmen must always be on hand to provide support for the mission.

"Our job is putting out safe, reliable equipment for the pilot's and the flying mission," said Williams. "So when that time does come, there is no question or doubt in his mind if that piece of equipment will work."