Photo By Tech. Sgt. Melissa Sterling | U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II pilots assigned to the 74th Fighter Squadron from...... read more read more
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Moody’s 74th Fighter Squadron ‘Thunder’ A-10C Thunderbolt II pilots out gunned more than 10 units to win its first-ever Top Overall Team Award during the 2018 Hawgsmoke competition, Oct. 18, 2018, at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.
With the best of the best from the close-air support community pitted against each other, the 74th FS showcased their bombing, missile and tactical gunnery capabilities to also garner both the Top Tactical and Top Conventional team awards.
“Hawgsmoke has always been about Espirit de Corps for the A-10 community and provides a great integration between all A-10 units,” said Capt. Randall Ott, 74th FS A-10 pilot. “That being said, as one of the staple A-10 [squadrons], the Flying Tigers have a rich legacy of A-10 experience and have participated in Hawgsmoke events since the founding of the event in 2000. A high percentage of the attendees have been Flying Tigers at some point, and getting the first ever win for the Flying Tigers was special.”
Hawgsmoke is a biennial worldwide competition derived from the discontinued "Gunsmoke" Air Force Worldwide Gunnery Competition. It provides an opportunity for participants to not only test their skillset but also enhance camaraderie.
The 74th FS’s camaraderie with their total force partners proved critical to enhancing their execution as A-10 maintainers from the 476th Maintenance Squadron, a reserve unit located at Moody, maintained their aircraft during the competition. The 476th MXS also competed and came out victorious winning the Top Hawg award, which is presented to the best maintenance team.
“It means a lot to win [Top Hawg],” said Tech. Sgt. Brandon Hoke, 476th MXS A-10 crew chief. “Everyone had to perform to the highest of their ability and execute the mission flawlessly. This was an amazing opportunity to showcase our talents. The 476th MXS has some of the hardest working men and women I have ever had the privilege to work with. I am proud that we had the opportunity to bring this award home.”
Coming back victorious and etching their names in the history books wasn’t easy as the competition presented many challenges for the ‘Thunder’ pilots.
“Hawgsmoke presented opportunities to get creative with our weapons delivery, but the judges did all they could to throw us curveballs in our weapons events,” said Ott. “For example, our low altitude bombing attack was a delivery that only one person in the flight had ever actually executed, so we had to adjust and really think through how we would execute. We learned of the events just before our flight brief and highlighted the common errors we may see.”
As the 74th FS maneuvered the Missouri skies, they exhibited their close-air support prowess by showcasing their strafing, high-altitude dive-bombing, missile precision and team tactical capabilities. Although they took home a victory, the unit knows they can always get better.
“We can always improve, we’re always working hard to be the best pilots and close-air support team we can regardless of the event,” said Ott. “Whether it is working with joint terminal attack controllers (JTACs) here at Moody, Red Flag integrating with a massive air picture, or Hawgsmoke, we are always learning and improving. Continuing to push ourselves home station and TDY will help us defend our title [at Moody] in 2020 and, more importantly, help protect our brothers and sisters on the ground in combat.”
The 74th FS and support units will have the chance to duplicate their success and defend their bragging rights by competing again when Moody hosts Hawgsmoke 2020.
| Date Taken: | 10.26.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 10.26.2018 10:05 |
| Story ID: | 297829 |
| Location: | WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, MO, US |
| Web Views: | 225 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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