MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. - Job Title: Aviation Ordnanceman
Unit: Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 14
Age: 26
Hometown: Lynchburg, Va.
DATE JOINED: AUG. 22, 2005
To ensure the best air support results, Marines must make sure both bombs and guns on aircraft function properly at the critical moment.
That’s where Cpl. Corey F. Evans comes in. As an aviation ordnanceman with Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 14, he and his shop are responsible for assembling bombs and for the mid-level maintenance on gun systems.
Because they work with live ordnance and heavy equipment, Evans keeps his mind on safety.
“We have to wear steel toe boots, we have to wear eye protection, ear protection and hard hats,” said Evans. “The biggest safety issue we have here is building and transporting ordnance. We haul bombs up and down the road from our area to the squadron where it’s being delivered and anything can happen, so we try to maintain as much safety as we can.”
He said the deployment pace is demanding. Squadrons and detachments continuously deploy to overseas contingency operations that need ordnancemen to maintain their firepower. Evans previously deployed with MALS-29 to Iraq, which he said was a great learning experience.
"I was originally a rotor guy down at MALS-26 in New River, and now up here, it's kind of nice to get a different experience in a different type of work," said Evans. "But when you deploy, you get everything. You're not working on one specific type of plane because everything is out there – F/A-18s, Hueys, Cobras, Ospreys – everything is out there."