SANGB-built bombs make a "Mark" in Michigan

Photo By David Kujawa | WATERS, Mich.-- An MK-82 bomb makes impact during an A-10 Thunderbolt II close-air support training mission at the Michigan National Guard's Grayling Air Gunnery Range August 11, 2020. Pilots of the 107th Fighter Squadron, based out of Selfridge Air National Guard Base, routinely train with inert and live ordnance and ammunition, dropping payloads in the more-than 147,000 acres of joint-use ground maneuver and impact range space. These critical capabilities allow A-10 Thunderbolt II pilots to train for close-air support missions with live fire, rockets, bombs, and missiles. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. David Kujawa)  

SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, MI, UNITED STATES

08.12.2020

Story by Tech. Sgt. Chelsea FitzPatrick 

127th Wing

SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mich.— Members of the 127th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron’s Weapons team had the opportunity to practice wartime readiness skills at home station this week, when they successfully loaded three, live Mark 82 bombs on two A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft here on August 11, 2020. The bombs, built by the 127th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron’s ammunitions team here last week, were then flown to and dropped on the Grayling Air Gunnery Range in Waters by 107th Fighter Squadron pilots.

“Our wartime skill is to arm aircraft with live weapons,” said Sr. Master Sgt. Richard James, weapons section chief. “Unlike other maintenance career fields, we don’t get the chance to hone our skills on a regular basis.”
During training missions, A-10 weapons crews and pilots typically use inert bombs, only simulating wartime combat conditions. Loading live bombs during training missions is integral to keeping weapons Airmen fresh on skills related to handling live ordnance.

“Using live ordnance for training is important because the dummy bombs and real bombs have differences in fuses, capabilities, and feel,” James said.

Senior Airman Erica Spaulding and her team members, Senior Airman Bradly Welbourn and Staff Sgt. Cory Jones, all weapons loaders with the 127th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, loaded the live bombs. Spaulding, a veteran who served a tour in Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, agrees the local training opportunities enhance real-world mission readiness.

“This training is closer to a real-life missions so it will prepare us for the experiences we will have in future overseas deployments,” Spaulding said.

Spaulding, a full-time college student, likes the satisfaction she gets from seeing her job completed.

“I get to load the jets, see them go up, then see them come back without munitions,” Spaulding said. “It makes me feel like I play an important role in the close-air support mission.”

After being loaded with the 500-pound bombs, pilots flew the loaded A-10s north to the 148,000-acre, joint-use, ground maneuver and impact range space called the National All-Domain Warfighting Center, encompassing Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center in Grayling and Alpena respectively. Having the capability to load live ordnance at home station also protects Airmen from having to travel on temporary duty, potentially exposing them to COVID-19 exposure.

“I think it’s awesome we were able to do the live load mission here yesterday and I look forward to doing more missions like this in the future,” Spaulding said.

• Date Taken: 08.12.2020
• Date Posted: 08.15.2020 07:19
• Story ID: 375833
• Location: SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, MI, US