A tale of two specialties

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Daniel Phelps
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Through the best of times and the worst of times, there has always been rivalry between weapons and ammo units.

"The rivalry started a long time ago, but it's a friendly one," said Tech. Sgt. Barry Armstrong, 79th Aircraft Maintenance Unit weapons expeditor.

For new weapons and ammo Airmen, they say it begins in technical school.

"At Sheppard Air Force Base, our units would be beside each other," he explained. "When we marched, we'd be chanting and they'd be chanting. We'd heckle them, and they'd do the same to us."

The rivalry even continues after technical school.

"They call ammo BB stackers, and we'll call them load toads," said Staff Sgt. Nathan DeGregory, a 20th Equipment Maintenance Squadron ammo precision guidance technician.

Even with the rivalry, they depend on each other to accomplish the Air Force mission.

"For morale purposes, we always maintain that friendly rivalry," explained Sergeant Armstrong. "But without them, we wouldn't be able to do our job."

Weapons and ammo Airmen work together as one fluid unit to get bombs onto planes.

The process starts with a request taken by the line delivery drivers in the ammo shop, Sergeant Armstrong said. A request is sent out by weapons according to the flight plans of the pilots. The driver then takes the request to ammo. Ammo will then build the munitions, and it will be delivered to the flightline where the weapons Airmen will load it onto the jets.

There are other aspects outside of this immediate process that go into sending the weapons to the targets.

"The weapons shop is divided into two separate (sections), weapons flightline and armament back shop," Sergeant Armstrong said.

The flightline Airmen are responsible for loading and testing the aircraft, while those in the armament back shop schedule inspections and inspect pylons, launchers and clean and fix the weapons systems, he said.

"We are responsible for getting the weapons properly onto the aircraft as well as working with all of the different subsystems that deal with weaponry," Sergeant Armstrong said. "We basically ensure the missiles and the planes are communicating properly."

Another major aspect of weapons is bore-sighting the gun on the aircraft, he added. They make sure that what the pilot sees is aligned with where the gun is actually pointing.

"If it's not sighted properly, bullets will hit the wrong target," Sergeant Armstrong said.

The ammo shop is a more behind-the-scenes shop.

"Day-to-day, we don't really get recognized for what we do because we are a back shop," remarked Sergeant DeGregory. "But, we are important."

Ammo is generally broken down into about seven to 10 shops on installations, Sergeant Armstrong said.

The shops will range from conventional and equipment maintenance to accountability and inspection to building the munitions, Sergeant DeGregory said.

"Every two years or so, the Airmen will rotate from one of those shops into another," he added.

Ammo is also responsible for more than just the munitions for aircraft, Sergeant DeGregory said. They also keep track of bullets for Security Forces and bombs for explosive ordnance disposal as well.

"Basically, if it's explosive, we have it," he said.

Keeping track of all the munitions is a big responsibility, added Sergeant DeGregory. Every bullet, missile and bomb has to be checked for safety and quality. On top of that, accountability has to be taken on all of them as well.

"The inspectors are the elite of ammo," he said. "If things aren't properly inspected, people die."

Though weapons and ammo have different job details and a friendly rivalry, the Air Force mission could not be accomplished without them. They also recognize the need for each other.

"It's important for the two shops to work together," said Sergeant DeGregory.

"We can't do the job without them and vice-versa," concluded Sergeant Armstrong.