'Wolf Pack' defeats Team Osan for weapons loading title

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephen Collier
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  In a race to the finish, 8th Fighter Wing "Wolf Pack" aircraft maintenance squadron Airmen beat out their 51st Fighter Wing counterparts during the semi-annual "Chief Master Sgt. Kebil Memorial" 7th Air Force peninsula-wide weapons loading competition May 12.

Each weapons loading team, one from the 8th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron here and the other from the 51st AMXS at Osan Air Base, competed in the 'Weapons Fest 2007' event, proving which weapons loaders were the best in the numbered air force. Kunsan won during the summer 2006 competition, but lost out to a faster Osan team during the fall.

"It was great to see the Wolf Pack bring the 'Chief Master Sgt. Kebil Memorial Trophy' back home," Master Sgt. Chadwick Luquette, 8th Maintenance Group weapons manager said. "The weapons troops of the Wolf Pack demonstrated to the world that we're the best during the (Operational Readiness Inspection) and this competition gave us the chance to reiterate our statement."

The loading competition is named after Chief Kebil, an active-duty weapons Airman who died from a heart attack in 2005. Since then, his family has an educational fund established in his honor to help all weapons Airmen and their dependents seek higher education learning.

From the moment the words "crew attention, ready, break!" were sounded, both crews ran neck-to-neck. But it wasn't until Wolf Pack weapons loaders, working with a Wolf Pack F-16 Fighting Falcon, inched forward when they started their bomb lift truck first, sending the on-looking 8th AMXS crowd into a roar.

During the more than 27-minute competition, both crews loaded an MK-82 general purpose bomb, one Guided Bomb Unit-12 laser-guided munition and two AIM-9 'Sidewinder' heat seeking, air-to-air missiles almost simultaneously. But the Wolf Pack crew continued to inch by, completing the load competition one minute before their Mustang counterparts, who loaded weapons onto an Osan A-10 Thunderbolt II.

A typical weapons load configuration, according to Sergeant Luquette, requires more than 40 minutes.

Each team finished loading their respective aircraft, embraced their fellow weapons Airmen and headed off to a joint barbecue between the bases where they awaited the results of the competition. Soon after, Kunsan was announced the winner.

Even with tensions high as the load crews came to the finish, Master Sgt. Jonathan Davis, 51st Maintenance Group weapons standardization manager, said in the end, the loading competition was about building camaraderie between Kunsan and Osan.

"[The load competition] gives us a chance to show our skills and do what we train for at Osan," Sergeant Davis said. "There's a lot of pride in the weapons community, not just here on the peninsula, but Air Force wide. Along with our ammo counterparts, we're a pretty tight-knit group."

During the competition, crews are evaluated in several areas, including the proficiency of the load, how safely the crews load the munitions and the reliability of the weapons being placed on the F-16 and the A-10.

Sergeant Davis pointed out that even though the competition was for fun, weapons loaders Air Force wide take seriously the need to give pilots reliable weapons at a moment's notice.

"It all comes down to reliability," Sergeant Davis said. "It's our job to ensure that the weapons loaded will come off the airplane when the pilot wants them to and hit their targets. That's our main objective. We give the pilot the best product available to ensure they can accomplish the mission."

And Sergeant Luquette added the weapons loader's proved during the competition that "without weapons, it's just another airline."

"Overall, 'Weapons Fest 2007' was a huge success and I can not wait for the opportunity to whip the Mustangs again," Sergeant Luquette quipped. "We're going to keep the Chief Kebil trophy right here at the Wolf Pack this fall."

The fall peninsula-wide loading competition is not currently scheduled.

The weapons crew from Kunsan included Staff Sgt. Eric Harris and Senior Airmen Daniel Diaz and Garrett Otto. Osan's load crew was comprised of Staff Sgts. Jimmy Pruitt, Karlston Davis and David Hsu.