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Ammo Airmen always arming

  • Published
  • By Capt. Brian Maguire
  • 451st Air Expeditionary Wing
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  Munitions airmen make an impact every day in Afghanistan by building the weapons systems necessary for the close air support mission.

While training at home station or deployed, airmen with the 451st Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron Munitions Flight use the same procedures, techniques and process to build weapons. The only difference is the effects of the weapon.

"The job is important in the fact that we provide reliable bombs and bullets to those that need it," said Senior Master Sgt. Holly Jensen, 451st EMXS munitions flight chief, who is deployed from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. "We ensure all our customers [security forces, explosive ordnance disposal, pararescue, aircrew and every Air Force member on this installation] have what they need to defend themselves and our brothers and sisters in arms."

Building bombs requires an intense level of attention to detail, because the smallest error can prevent the bomb from attaching correctly to an airframe or detonating as expected.

"It's like playing Legos but with stuff that blows up," said Staff Sgt. Daniel Chapman, deployed from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. "We have all the pieces that need to go together in a certain order, we have the instructions, or technical order, open and there is only one way it goes together."

Strictly following the technical orders is important, but the airmen's job isn't much different from what they accomplish at home station.

"We build the same here as we do at home, only at a higher rate of production and the outcome plays an integral part in effective warfighting," Jensen said.

The rate at which the airmen build bombs varies depending on the number of expenditures, said Jensen. The ammo flight builds almost every week to maintain an appropriate stockpile and the constant effort provides useful experience for the airmen.

"This is my first deployment and I like it," said Airman 1st Class Ty Cole, deployed from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, and a native of Danbury, Conn. "It is a good learning experience. It is good to get more hands-on experience with everything."

With most of the ammo flight are all deployed from the same unit, it is easy to get into a routine among each of the crews, said Chapman.

"The deployment builds on camaraderie that exists from home station, but we also have airmen from other units here," said Chapman, a native of Marion, Ill. "Ammo as a whole has more camaraderie based on belonging to the career field than to the base. We're not loyal to a specific aircraft, we just deal with the explosives."

When dealing with explosives in a training environment, the airmen can't see the end result of their work. Working in a deployed location enables the airmen to see the full impact of their job.

"Ultimately we never see the real fruits of our labor," said Jensen, a native of Poynor, Texas. "Knowing that what we are doing here is affecting soldiers on the front line and eliminating high-value targets gives us, the 'Ammo Troop,' the ultimate feeling of accomplishment and contribution to the fight."

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