Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Ryre Arciaga | 160103-N-KW492-039 ARABIAN GULF (Jan. 3, 2015) Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Steven...... read more read more
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By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Ryre Arciaga, USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) Public Affairs
GULF OF OMAN— On the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), aviation ordnancemen (AO) work tirelessly assembling and disassembling ordnance in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR).
OIR is the combined efforts of the United States and its coalition partners to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL in Iraq and Syria, and the AOs of Kearsarge have been a big part of that operation for the last month.
“This is the first time in over nine years that there hasn’t been a [U.S.] carrier presence in the gulf,” said Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Kirt Robinson, the G3 division leading chief petty officer (LCPO), from Palm Bay, Florida. “Since our arrival here, we have had a big role in what’s going on in the Middle East. I honestly wasn’t expecting this ship to come out here and have such a major job, because as far as AV-8B Harrier operations and dropping bombs, you never really see it. We may just drop 10 bombs for a deployment, but for this operation alone, we have dropped over 70 bombs.”
For the AOs, it’s a prideful moment for them, knowing what they have achieved and the difference they are making.
“It makes me feel very proud knowing that we have a direct hand in eliminating targets and protecting our ground forces,” said Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Jason Gardner, the G3 leading petty officer (LPO), from Houston. “It’s a very good sense of accomplishment. We hear the Harriers come back and they tell us that they dropped all the ordnance and that it blew up and took out the targets as designed. It’s really great for all of my guys knowing that we had a hand in accomplishing that mission.”
The AOs of the G3 division on Kearsarge assembled some of the ordnance made for OIR.
“G3 is a division of the weapons department. What we generally do is assemble and disassemble any type of ordnance that we may have on the ship,” said Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Steven Hickman, from Houston. “We also support the ground troops and the Air Combat Element (ACE) unit with any type of small arms and rounds that they might need.”
G3 is divided up into smaller workstations called magazines, or “MAGS.”
“We have MAG 4, which is generally the assembly and disassembly of bombs,” said Hickman. “Then we have MAG 5 which deals with all of the small-arm weapons such as the missiles and the actual rounds themselves. MAG 9 deals with the fast reaction equipment for the Marines when they go out for a mission.”
In order to provide the necessary ordnance for the Harrier pilots, the AOs of MAG 4 work in the lower levels of the ship, building and assembling bombs.
“At the start of our day we do daily chores such as cleaning the MAG, checking temperatures, and checking the chains to make sure all the ordnance is secured and properly stowed away,” said Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Tana Eden, from Fort Worth, Texas. “Then, depending on what break-outs we have that day, we make sure that everything is set up and ready to go. If we do have bomb builds that day, we have to make sure all the pieces are together and accounted for, then we build the bombs. After that, we do inspections to make sure that everything was done right and clean up once all the work is finished.”
Even with all the day-to-day activities, the AOs remain committed to providing nothing but the best product they can, everyday. “A lot of our guys in the AO rate are very proud of our rating,” said Gardner. “There is a lot of history behind our rating and many of our airmen are proud to wear the red shirt everyday. It’s a symbol to them that what we do directly impacts our forces on the ground. They take pride knowing that they’re in the line of giving the aircrew the weapons they need in order to protect our forces and helping with the war the best that we can.”
“I have to say that what I like most about MAG 4 is that we build bombs!” said Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Michael Turner, from Sanford, Florida. “When it comes to missiles and rockets, there’s not a lot that you do. But with a bomb, you have to actually put every little piece together in order to make it work.”
According to Gardner, building bombs takes great technical skill, and he says the junior AOs have shown great progress, since the beginning of deployment.
“Just professionally, these guys have learned so much,” said Gardner. “When we first started building weapons it was a long process, and they were all new to it. Where it once took five hours to build four bombs, they’re now pumping out four bombs in an hour. Their level of knowledge is building, their knowledge of the weapons systems is building, and they know all the different components. It’s all part of our rating, knowing all these different components that go into building one weapon.”
Many of the Sailors in MAG 4 have realized their significant growth and improvement.
“When I first got here, I had come straight from “A” school,” said Eden. “I checked in the day before deployment, so I didn’t know anything. I wasn’t very familiar with building bombs because that was not the main focus in school. I knew what the different parts were, but I didn’t know where each piece went and what each specific bomb was. So when I got here and they started building the first bombs, I had no idea what to do. But as we started to make six to eight bombs a day, I became more familiar with how to make them. Now I can actually identify everything and I know what each component is. I’ve definitely started to get better and faster at my job.”
As the Sailors broaden their individual skillsets, the AOs have improved as a whole.
“We’ve gotten better as a team because we’ve identified each other’s strengths and weaknesses as we started to work with each other more often,” said Eden. “So you can say were building bombs and building teams.”
This team of AOs truly carry the spirit of teamwork with them as they work together.
“What makes my MAG unique is the camaraderie we have with one another,” said Hickman. “The true work ethic we have is what sets us apart from the other MAGs. The guys that work for me in my magazine are truly an amazing group of guys.”
“Each MAG has its own personality,” said Eden. “I can say for MAG 4 that we have a very good work ethic and organization ever since we’ve been involved in OIR. Despite our differences, we all get along and come together as one. We are definitely a family.”
“At first it was very frustrating for me since I didn’t know what to do, but being thrown into everything, I’ve learned how to do my job a lot faster by being in MAG 4,” Eden added. “Working for AO2 Nichols and AO2 Hickman has been very inspiring for me. They work with us airmen, even though they know that we’re going to be slower at doing the job. They still help and work with us to make sure that we get things done right and that we learn from our mistakes and make sure that everything turns out right.”
With such a large amount of effort being put into assembling bombs for the operation, it is important for the Sailors assembling the bomb to know that their efforts are effective and successful.
“It puts in perspective why we’re out here and why the ship is in the Middle East,” said Robinson. “It shows them why they build bombs and why it’s important to do their job the right way. It also teaches them to have respect for their rate as well, because if we don’t do our jobs correctly, then being out here is just a waste of time.”
As Kearsarge continues on its deployment, you can be assured that no matter what missions its AOs are involved in, whether it be OIR or any other operation, they will do their job to the best of their ability with nothing but the best results.
Kearsarge is the flagship for the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and, with the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), is deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.
| Date Taken: | 02.05.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.05.2016 05:40 |
| Story ID: | 187998 |
| Location: | USS KEARSARGE, ARABIAN SEA |
| Web Views: | 811 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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