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SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany – The sound of a deafening horn echoed through the hangar, Airmen jumped to their tasks; jammer vehicles coughed dark smoke as they roared to life, metallic tools glinted under the lights as munitions builders raced to construct their bombs, crews ducked and dodged under the wings of their F-16 Fighting Falcon. The race to the finish was on.
A quarterly load competition had just begun, the goal to be the first to load three weapons onto their respective F-16. Winning requires near-perfect coordination, teamwork, and communication in a loud, chaotic, high-stakes environment. Teams are scored not only by how fast they load the weapons, but also by how few errors were present in their work.
“The load competition is our chance to showcase our best crew’s abilities to load munitions,” said Tech. Sgt. Nathan McGreevy, 52nd MXG loading standardization crew member, “It’s an event that we throw to showcase our best Airmen’s skills, to put munitions on an aircraft and get it ready for combat.”
First, munitions builders rushed to the first target- a GBU-38 bomb that needed to be constructed. Meanwhile, weapons loading crews prepared an AIM-120 missile to be loaded onto the wingtip of the jet.
Within minutes, the bomb was ready for weapons load crew Airmen to hoist it into a jammer, a maneuver requiring concentration and job proficiency.
Before long, one team seemed to be drawing ahead. The hangar was full of noise; hordes of Airmen packing the Hangar’s floor cheered and shouted and competitors shouted over the clamor of machinery as the timers ticked upwards.
The competition flaunts the ability of weapons load crew members and munitions builders to complete a high-pressure job with both speed and dexterity; essential skills when the stakes in their career field are so high. Being able to correctly mount weapons to an aircraft with clear communication and teamwork instills confidence within crews and pilots when the mission needs to be executed, with failure never an option.
The event instills pride in participants each quarter. Out of 17 load teams at Spangdahlem, only the two best performing crews get to compete.
“They’ve earned it,” said McGreevy, “These crews stand out and have the chance to show the wing what they can do because they have the best loading statistics.”
The electric environment is a quarterly staple for morale and good spirits within the unit, as well; “My favorite part of the event is seeing the camaraderie,” McGreevy said, “Getting a chance to come down from all the work and have your friends cheer you on.”
The fast-paced competition only makes crews strive to improve each quarter, encouraging a positively reinforced culture of hard work and dedication among Airmen and driving home the mission of delivering airpower options to deter and combat aggression.
| Date Taken: | 11.03.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 11.17.2025 05:40 |
| Story ID: | 551293 |
| Location: | SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 52nd Maintenance Group hosts 3rd Quarter Weapons Load Competition, by A1C Gretchen McCarty, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
