MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- The smell of grease and fuel floats through the hangar. The chatter of the crowd turns into a roar as the announcer introduces the teams. The competition begins and the teams face-off in a battle against the clock, with proficiency and safety at the forefront.
This is a glimpse into competition day at the quarterly weapons load competition, where a three-man weapons load crew from the 74th Aircraft Maintenance Unit (AMU) competed against the 75th AMU May, 22, 2019, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga.
The Airmen were evaluated on how quickly and efficiently they loaded smart bombs, guided bombs, air-to-air missiles and air-to-ground missiles onto aircraft.
“The crews will get evaluated once a month [in order] to stay qualified, by loading munitions they are certified to load,” said Staff Sgt. Joshua Coll, 74th AMU weapons load crew chief. “They will take one Airman per unit and then the best from each unit will compete in the quarterly competition.”
The competition is hosted by the weapons standardization section and competitors are judged by weapons standardization evaluators who are chosen for their professional expertise.
“The judges evaluate on how quickly the Airmen can get it done, how well they can get it done and how safely they can get it done,” said Coll. “Communication is key to the load crew dynamic. The crew has to be able to take direction from me and I have to be able to accept that I’m not always going to be right.”
For the 74th AMU load crew, teamwork is an essential part of how they load together.
“It’s a team based thing,” said Airman 1st Class Carlos Carias-Rodriguez, 74th AMU load crew member. “We made it this far because we all made it this far. It’s not just any one of us alone carrying the team, but all of us working together to make sure we succeed.”
Even with great teamwork, loading munitions with lots of people watching can be daunting for some Airmen.
“This is my first weapons load competition,” said Senior Airman Paolo Niere, 74th AMU weapons load crew member. “If I let the pressure of everyone watching get to me, then it’s over, so at the end of the day I just have to treat it like it’s just another load.”
Just like every other load these Airmen accomplish, this load must be completed with the same standards of perfection. Even though the Airmen are judged as a team, each individual member has their own way of dealing with the stress.
“The competition is important to me because I have always taken a lot of pride in the job itself,” said Coll. “We may not have won, but I still think we are winners.”