Photo By Tech. Sgt. Javier Cruz | U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Harold J. Gross III, 95th Aircraft Maintenance Unit...... read more read more
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TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Before the sun peaked over the Tyndall flightline, 12 Airmen waited in a holding area for the beginning of an eight-hour, stress-induced race against the clock.
The prize is the title of the 325th Maintenance Group’s Senior Master Sergeant Scott E. Sutherland Weapons Load Crew of the Year award for 2016.
The competition began with uniform inspections and written test before the teams entered the arena with an F-22 Raptor.
Airman 1st Class Elijah Cruz, 43rd Aircraft Maintenance Unit and Airman 1st Class Harold J. Gross III, 95th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, both aircraft armament systems technicians, were the lowest ranking participants, competing both with and against other seasoned load crew teams.
“I was nervous about my own performance, not so much my team,” Cruz said. “Being evaluated keeps you on your toes in general and it makes sure you are alert and know what to do, it provides you with the opportunity to learn how to load faster but still safely.”
Cruz, along with Staff Sgt. Christopher A. Holmes and Senior Airman Michael B. Cheek, recently advanced to the competition after winning the load crew competition for the last quarter of 2016.
“Loading against other crew members provides you with that extra edge that helps you prepare for real combat,” Cruz said.
Load crews from the 43rd AMU and the 95th AMU compete in quarterly load crew competitions.
“The competition builds camaraderie between the different aircraft maintenance units and helps ensure these guys are striving towards being the best at their craft,” said Master Sgt. Jacob Trevino, 325th MXG loading standardization crew team chief. “We’re looking for sustained performance from each of the crews to accomplish the task.”
Throughout the day, spectators gathered in the weapons standardization hangar to watch the load crews compete.
“I knew what I needed to do and that gave me the confidence I needed. It helped drown out the other distractions,” Gross said. “I’ve played sports all my life, and one thing about competition is that it gives you motivation. There is always somebody behind you trying to be better than you.”
Load crews competed under a time restriction to accumulate points for safety, reliability violations, undetected foreign objects, and technical order or instruction errors.
“We’re looking at all facets, the main things we’re looking for are timeliness, safety and reliable work,” Trevino said. “To accomplish that, everything else falls in place as far as their communication and team work are concerned.”
Teams inspected and loaded inert Sidewinder AIM-9 missiles, Guided Bomb Unit (GBU-32) bombs, Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air (AIM-120) missiles, and multiple chaff and flare countermeasures.
“When Airmen are in a forward deployed location, time is of the essence. Competing against each other and the clock definitely helps in that aspect,” Trevino said. “Our load crews are good at handling stressors. When these guys are on the flightline, they are constantly under pressure and we hold them to a high standard.”
| Date Taken: | 01.20.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 01.24.2017 17:12 |
| Story ID: | 221206 |
| Location: | PANAMA CITY, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 85 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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