CAMP TAJI, Iraq (AFNS) -- Iraqi and U.S. weapons crews and pilots completed a $250,000 weapons-delivery mission from Sather Air Base, Iraq to here March 14.
A half dozen Airmen assigned to the 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron here accompanied their Iraqi army aviation command partners to accept delivery of nearly 30 U.S. M240 machine guns purchased by the Iraqi ministry of defense.
"This weapons deal is a significant step toward increasing Iraq's internal security and national defense," said Maj. Claudio Covacci, a 721st AEAS maintenance officer who led a team of U.S. advisers that flew into Baghdad aboard a pair of Mi-171E helicopters piloted by U.S. and Iraqi airmen. "The mission went very well due to the cooperative efforts between the U.S. Air Force and Iraqi army aviation command. It's an excellent example of the strategic partnership between the people of Iraq and the United States."
In the past year, the Iraqi army aviation command Mi-17 and Mi-171E helicopter fleet has grown from 16 to 30. Eight more Mi-171E helicopters purchased from European manufacturers are expected to be delivered by this fall. Initially, the new helicopters have no defensive weapons systems when they arrive at Camp Taji.
Iraq Training and Advisory Mission-Air advisers suggested installing M240 machine guns for aerial gunners to use along the side doors of the aircraft and helped Iraqi government officials purchase the weapons.
Tech. Sgts. Kevin Cantrell and Bryan Felix are ITAM-Air ammunitions and aircraft armament systems experts who have advised their Iraqi counterparts at Camp Taji for nearly 12 months.
The two led the effort last summer to install prototype mounts for the U.S. weapons being tested by contractors aboard the Russian-made helicopters. Once the contractors certified the M240 for use aboard the helicopters, Sergeant Cantrell and Sergeant Felix began training the Iraqis to maintain a set of weapons loaned by the U.S. Army until the shipment arrived this week.
"We've been getting the Iraqis trained on M240 maintenance, inspections and loading them onto aircraft," Sergeant Felix said. "As a result, we've nearly doubled helicopter flight operations in the past few months."
Sergeant Felix said the Mi-171 helicopters do not fly outside safe zones without defensive weapon systems, so the priority is to mount the new M240 weapons to get more aircraft fully operational.
On March 17, Sergeant Felix and his Iraqi coworkers unpacked the new M240 weapons and spoke with the Iraqi army aviation command director of armament and supply, who was visiting from Baghdad, about how to store and clean the new weapons.
Staff Sgt. Marcus Smith and Sergeant Felix said they plan to assist their Iraqi counterparts with installing the new M240s so that Iraqi army aviation command officials have the ability to employ their entire Mi-171 fleet as multi-mission helicopters.
"Eventually, all the Mi-171s here will have M240s installed on them," Sergeant Felix said. "This will allow the Iraqis to conduct more ground and air operations."
As the Iraqi army aviation command's most versatile aircraft, the Mi-171 helicopters, armed with the new M240 weapons, play a crucial role in both day-to-day operations and providing security during major exercises, religious holidays and diplomatic events such as the Arab League Summit scheduled to be held in Baghdad in May.
"Taji's Mi-171s have reached a critical milestone toward fulfilling all performance and operational requirements necessary to execute its full-spectrum of air operations," Major Covacci said.
B-1 carries record-setting missile load
Posted 9/9/2010 by Tech. Sgt. Robert Wollenberg 7th Bomb Wing Public affairs
9/9/2010 - DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- A Dyess Air Force Base B-1B Lancer carried a full load of 24 AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missiles on a flight over the Gulf of Mexico, Sept. 7 -- a first for the B-1 and AGM-158.
"The mission was a success," said Maj. Brian Owen, the chief of wing weapons and tactics. "Everything went as planned, and we can verify that the B-1B can in fact operate its full capacity of JASSMs."
The purpose of the flight was to ensure maintainers, ammo and munitions Airmen and B-1 aircrew are proficient in uploading, flying, employing and downloading the AGM-158 JASSM and to test all missile-related processes to see if there's room for improvement. None of the missiles were released during this test; they were system-checked while in the air.
"Maintainers loading 24 JASSMs on one B-1 is a record-setting event," said Senior Master Sgt. Jeff Rud, of 7th Maintenance Group. "It's never been done before. The main reason we're doing this is for training. It's the cornerstone of all we do. It provides us the opportunity to hone our war fighting skills and gives us the opportunity to project our combat capability right here out of Dyess (AFB)."
The B-1 is the most capable JASSM employment platform in the world, Major Owen said.
"We've seen the engineering specs that say it's supposed to work, but it's never been done before," Major Owen said . "What makes the B-1 unique versus the other aircraft around the world is that we can employ these weapons on such a large scale. We can take off with two aircraft and have the capability to strike 48 different targets."
The second most capable aircraft is the B-2 Spirit, carrying 16 JASMMs, followed by the B-52 Stratofortress with 12.
The AGM-158 JASSM is designed to keep the jet and its crew a significant distance away from surface-to-air threats while still holding an enemy's targets at risk.
The AGM-158A is a stealth cruise missile powered by a Teledyne CAE J402 turbojet that uses flip-out wings with control surfaces and a single vertical tail for flight control. It's guided by a jamming-resistant, GPS-aided inertial navigation system and uses an imaging infrared seeker for autonomous pattern-based target selection and terminal homing.
The missile is armed with a 1,000 pound WDU-42/B insensitive munitions penetrating warhead, and accuracy is quoted within 8 feet. It is also equipped with a data link to transmit status and location information until impact, thus assisting in bomb damage assessment.
"I've been in the aircraft maintenance business for more than 24 years, and anytime you have the opportunity to do something first, it is a real morale booster," Sergeant Rud said. "It gives us here at Dyess (AFB) bragging rights, and that goes a long way in terms of building pride in your unit and pride in the aircraft you work on. I have found that people love to do their primary job, whether it's ammo line delivery crews delivering bombs or weapons loaders loading bombs.
"It's in these moments that people get energized when they see their part of an operation come together with the other pieces of the puzzle that makes them feel good about what they do," he said.
------------------------------------- Armament advisor makes Afghans proud
by Tech. Sgt. Oshawn Jefferson U.S. AFCENT Combat Camera
5/24/2010 - KABUL, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- Master Sgt. Raymond Rogers Jr. stands and watches two Afghan National Army Air Corps weapons loaders put new 12.7 mm rounds into the Yak-B Gatling gun of an MI-35 Hind E attack helicopter.
For Sergeant Rogers Jr., a 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron armament and ammunition flight adviser, the year he's spent supporting the Combined Air Power Transition Force effort to build a professional air force for Afghanistan has been richly rewarding.
"When I first got here, we had nine Afghans assigned to us, and they had no knowledge of how to execute this mission," said Sergeant Rogers, who is deployed from Seymour -Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. "To see these guys go from knowing nothing about loading weapons on these airframes to conducting the mission with me just standing here watching is something that fills me with pride."
With help from Czech Republic and Hungarian operational mentor and liaison team members, Sergeant Rogers trained 17 ANAAC soldiers on MI-35 and MI-17 weapons loading and unloading, armament storage, safety, weapons accountability, NATO standards and leadership skills.
"Sergeant Rogers has been a great mentor for us," said ANAAC Master Sgt. Abdul Wahid, a weapons loader. "He has shared his knowledge and helped us learn to put weapons on our aircraft to protect Afghans. He makes us proud."
Recently, ANAAC Mi-35 aircrews completed two milestones. First, they were employed to neutralize Taliban forces in the Baghlan Province, their first kinetic operation since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom. The other was a mission where Mi-35 aircrews provided armed escorts to Mi-17 helicopters transporting Afghan National Army soldiers to a forward location.
"Both those missions required ANAAC weapons loaders to do their jobs the right way in order for those Mi-35 aircrews to be effective on the battlefield," Sergeant Rogers said. "This is what this deployment has been about for me, helping the Afghans take care of their nation's security and protect its citizens. To have a hand in helping out with that is something I will never forget."
With his tour winding down, Sergeant Rogers can't wait to see what the future holds for Afghanistan.
"This has been one of the greatest experiences of my life," the 20-year Air Force veteran said. "I can't wait to see how far they come in the next year or two. I can't wait to see what's next. The future looks bright for Afghanistan and I'm glad to have had a small part in that hopeful future."
Tuskegee Airman of the Week: Oct. 25-31 by Senior Airman Andria J. Allmond 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
11/7/2009 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- Senior Airman Christina Chavarria of the 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron is the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing's Tuskegee Airman of the Week for Oct. 25-31, 2009.
"Airman Chavarria is an Airman who's leading the charge on base security," said Brig. Gen. Craig Franklin, 332nd AEW commander, who presented Airman Chavarria with the award and a commander's coin at wing headquarters Nov. 6. "She plays a crucial role in maintaining our force protection program - a well-oiled machine."
A force protection escort, Airman Chavarria filled an NCO position as team lead on 10 project sites, maintaining 100 percent accountability of third-country nationals and securing a $4 million construction location. Also, she ran a vehicle inspection station, which searched more than 80 vehicles and maintained flight line security.
"It feels awesome to have my peers and supervisors recognize my accomplishments," said Airman Chavarria, a native of El Paso, Texas. "Our job has so many aspects. We protect a variety of assets and various high-profile construction sites - including intelligence and the quick reaction force - in order to safeguard against anything that would compromise base safety."
Deployed from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., Airman Chavarria volunteered her off-duty time at the Air Force Theater Hospital, aiding in the care of combat-injured patients. Furthermore, in pursuit of her Community College of the Air Force degree, she earned six credits in humanities and psychology classes via College Level Examination Program tests.
"This is the best place to get things done for your education," said Airman Chavarria. "I recommend talking to different people and learning from them. Also, the deployed environment offers opportunities to volunteer. An Airman can learn new things while supporting base activities."
Airman Chavarria was nominated by her supervisor, Tech. Sgt. Jerry Woiton, 332nd ECES force protection supervisor.
"She has taken on the role of a lead supervisor," said Sergeant Woiton. "She brings a sense of professionalism, authority, and command and control to the fight."
The 332nd AEW Tuskegee Airman of the Week is open to Airmen between the ranks of E-1 and E-5, and is selected based on an Airman's on- and off-duty accomplishments. ____________________________________________________________________________
US and Iraqi Airmen Square Off in Weapons Load Competition By Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq Jul 27, 2009 - 6:58:34 PM Email this article Printer friendly page ShareThis Blackanthem Military News KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq - Earlier this month, Iraqi and U.S. AirForce personnel squared off here in the first weapons-load competition.
The contest pitted the newly certified lead-weapons crew from Iraqi AirForce Squadron 3 against advisors from the U.S. Air Force's 521st AirExpeditionary Advisory Squadron.
The Iraqis won a coin toss to determine which crew would load first andwere determined to show their advisors just how much they've learned.Seventeen minutes and fifteen seconds later the Iraqis finished - 2Hellfire missiles hung on the wings of an AC-208B Caravan with nodiscrepancies.
Next were the advisors, consisting of the U.S. Air Force's Tech. Sgt.Shawn Mullins, Staff Sgt. Eric Hunt and Staff Sgt. Phillip Ball. Theysaid they were confident in their abilities and were ready to showtheir rivals that the Iraqis still had a little bit more to learn.
The advisors began in earnest, with confidence and skill, and sixteenminutes later they finished. The advisors thought they had won, butthe Iraqis pointed out a critical mistake made in the last seconds ofthe load, which proved costly. As a result, the Iraqi load team won thecompetition and beat their advisors, a testament to their hard work,attention to detail and dedication.
Regardless of the outcome, however, the competition was a win for bothsides. It showed that Iraqi Air Force Squadron 3 load crews are trulyready to move forward on their own.
Two days later, in front of their squadron mates and advisors, thewinning crew accepted certificates from Brig. Gen. Robert Kane,commanding general, Iraq Training Advisory Mission- Air Force,Multi-National Security Transition Command, and 321st Air ExpeditionaryWarfare commander.
Expeditionary Weapons-loaders Arm Jets for the Fight Story by Staff Sgt. John Gordinier Date: 07.06.2009 Posted: 07.06.2009 11:08
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — Without the work of expeditionaryweapons-loaders, who load munitions on aircraft, the F-16s in the fighthere would be no different than any commercial airliner in terms ofstrike capability.
Combat missions occur around-the-clock here and weapons-loaders fromthe 332nd Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron are on shift 24hours a day, 7 days a week, making sure every aircraft is armedproperly and safely.
"Our munitions loaders are an integral part of the team ... becausethey load munitions and get aircraft ready to go for the pilots," saidCol. Perry Oaks, 332nd Expeditionary Maintenance Group commander.
"If I can't put bombs on the airplanes, all I have is an aircraft withintelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability," continuedthe colonel deployed here from Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. "With thebombs on the aircraft that the loaders enable, all of a sudden, I'vegot a sting that can be delivered to the enemy."
There are essentially three jobs weapons-loaders perform: loading ofmunitions, end-of-runway inspection, and armament maintenance.
As far as weapons-loading and EOR inspections, weapons-loaders work inteams of three in order to provide backup, safety and assistance. Eachmember has their own set of responsibilities.
"In weapons-loading, we have one person, who is essentially the NCO,who has the checklist and informs their team of all the necessaryinformation including safety requirements; they oversee everything,and, if anything goes wrong, the team goes to them," said Senior AirmanNadja Answorth, 332nd EAMXS weapons-loader.
"The 'two' person is responsible for preparing the station we are aboutto load on to," continued the Puyallup, Wash., native deployed herefrom Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. "The 'three' person, which is whatI am, is responsible for making sure the munitions are safe and thatthey match mission requirements. I also drive an MJ-1, or a bomb lift,to lift the weapons up for the attachment to the aircraft."
Weapons-loaders working EOR are responsible for getting that last goodlook-over to ensure nothing is wrong, and make sure the bombs areactually going to drop if needed, Airman Answorth added.
"Loaders pull the safety pins and perform final checks before theaircraft flies its mission," said Tech. Sgt. Brett Kitzman, 332nd EAMXSweapons-loader, who is from Aurora, Colo., and is deployed here fromBuckley Air Force Base, Colo.
Not all weapons-loaders are outside in the heat loading munitions; somework in the armament section performing maintenance and inspections.
"Loaders here in the armament backshop perform scheduled maintenance onanything that a bomb or missile touches," said Staff Sgt. Eduardo Sera,332nd EAMXS weapons-loader and armament-systems journeyman. "Everythinggets inspected, but we do not deal with the munitions themselves --only equipment the munitions touch."
All equipment that is used to hold the bombs to the aircraft,mechanically or electrically, comes here for maintenance andinspections, continued the West Covina, Calif., native also deployedhere from Spangdahlem AB. There are 90-day, annual, bi-annual and18-month inspections to maintain serviceability; it all depends on whattype of suspension system the equipment has.
All in all, the weapons-loaders enjoy their job, particularly in adeployed environment. Answorth said she has been a weapons-loader forthree years, and she loves it.
"It gives you a sense of accomplishment, especially when you comedown-range and actually get to see what you've been practicing for athome-station," she said. "When you hear the jet take off, there is asense of pride. When you see that afterburner kick in, you know thatjet is armed with your munitions, and it gives you a great feelingknowing you did your job right."
"They [weapons-loaders] take a lot of pride in making sure everything works perfectly," Oaks said. "They have done superbly."
"Day in and day out, over the last year, we've flown approximately26,000 combat missions, and we have about a 99-percent missioneffectiveness and that is great by anyone's methods," Oaks concluded."We take a lot of pride in being able to provide safe, reliable weaponsfor the aircraft and the pilots flying the combat missions."
4/23/2009 - SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (AFNS) -- Six Airmen from the 20th Maintenance Group recently conducted a Rapid Improvement Event here as part of Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century initiatives happening across the Air Force.
Senior Airman Ronnie Eveland, 20th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, explained that while the RIE focused on the layout and space management of the 20th EMS Armament Flight, the objective was to increase overall productivity while maintaining a safe and reliable work center, as well as maximizing the use of available space.
Overall, the team successfully reduced personnel travel time by 41 percent on all processes, Airman Eveland said. They returned three personnel back to the maintenance floor by deactivating the support section and developed a status board to cue the maintainer on the next equipment inspection he is assigned to complete, continued Airman Eveland.
The team started with a current state layout of the work center and brainstormed ways to improve efficiency and space utilization by analyzing current maintenance practices. As a result, they discovered several areas that could be improved to cut down on movement time, eliminate waste and improve space utilization.
With these findings the team developed a future state layout of the work center that was implemented at the end of the week.
Waste was also an issue tackled by the team. With their collective effort they were able to recycle 5,000 pounds of excess equipment, implement a gun station to perform all maintenance on the F-16 gun system and relocate equipment racks closer to work stations to increase productivity.
"AFSO 21 empowers and gives a voice to Airmen to make changes in their work center," said Staff Sgt. Christopher Evans, 20th EMS Armament flight. "It brings new and fresh ideas to processes that are broken or need improvement. In order to keep up with the changing Air Force, we have to evaluate the way we do business and change accordingly."
Airman Eveland agreed that AFSO 21 did improve overall functions for his shop. "After re-organizing our shop and seeing the improvements, I know that AFSO 21 can work for everyone in the Air Force," he said. "Being an Airman it was nice to finally have a voice and have my ideas heard."
B-1 carries record-setting missile load
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Tuskegee Airman of the Week: Oct. 25-31