BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Eight ammo teams from eight different Major Commands competed at the Air Force Combat Operations Competition for a chance to be named the best of the best ammo team by winning the Sierra Trophy.
The 9th Munitions Squadron orchestrated this event to test the skills and cohesion of ammo teams in a series of wartime scenarios.
“AFCOCOMP is designed to train our Airmen for war through pride in competition across the Air Force,” said Master Sgt. Tosha Skeen, 9th Munitions Squadron munitions stockpile management NCO in charge. “This event is not just a great learning experience for the teams participating, but for all ammo teams across each MAJCOM.”
The events include building small and large bombs, loading small-diameter bombs, line delivery, 7-level validation, building a munitions assembly conveyor, and a standard configuration load test.
AFCOCOMP was started as an annual event in 2018, but was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic, making this only the third event in the competition’s history. Since its inception, AFCOCOMP has grown to create a more realistic process, and embody the multi-capable Airman concept.
“We’re doing more than just building bombs, we’re palletizing cargo, moving equipment and showing that we can perform outside of our scope,” said Skeen.
After completing each scenario, the teams were graded by how fast they completed their task, and how many discrepancies they had.
“This is phenomenal practice for us,” said Master Sgt. Brian Foster, 20th Equipment Maintenance Squadron NCO in charge of precision guided munitions, from Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. “Having done a few [agile combat employment] missions in the past, this is dead-on with what we do down range. Adding some competition and some hustle is exactly what we need for some realistic experience.”
After four straight days of fierce competition under the California sun, the 96th Maintenance Squadron from Eglin AFB, Florida, came out on top and took home the Sierra Trophy.
Thanks to the competitive nature of AFCOCOMP, every participating team emerged with a boost of experience and readiness. Each Airman returns to their respective units with enhanced capabilities for safeguarding our nation and skills for iron to sharpen iron.