Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Daniel Heaton | An A-10 Thunderbolt II, flown by the 107th Fighter Squadron, 127th Wing, taxies in to...... read more read more
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SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD, Mich.—On October 16, 2018, 18 Airmen and five A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft of the 127th Wing travelled to Whitman Air Force Base, Missouri, to participate in the ninth biennial “Hawgsmoke” competition. By the end of the three-day long series of events, the group amassed five awards and placed in three events in the A-10 bombing, missile and tactical gunnery event competition.
“The team effort between the [operations] and [maintenance] groups during this trip was phenomenal,” said Lt. Col. Bart “Shrek” Ward, an A-10 pilot of the 107th Fighter Squadron, 127th Operations Group here. “[Both groups received] victories and awards to bolster the combat readiness and legacy of the 127th Wing.”
The 127th Maintenance Group had the opportunity to send more crew members this trip than during past competition participation. Consisting of crew chiefs, munitions, engine, electrical, environmental and expeditor specialists, the 13-member group helped earn the honors of both the coolest and the dirtiest aircrafts. While the latter doesn’t sound like a bragging right, the “Nasty Hawg” award is attributed to one of the best-running aircraft in the fleet.
‘When an A-10 shoots its gun, the gun gas flies all over and gets it dirty,’ said Tech. Sgt. Alex Goulette, a crew chief with the 127th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and the unit’s logistical team lead for the Hawgsmoke 2018 event. ‘It means the aircraft is staying air-worthy for a long period time and the award is credited to the maintenance team for keeping it in such good condition.’
While this was Goulette’s third time participating in a Hawgsmoke competition, one of the highpoints of his experience was the team-building.
“The best part is the camaraderie with the other A-10 units, it’s a very unique platform in the Air Force because, unlike the fighter jet platforms, we’re the only attack aircraft and it’s a small community,” Goulette said.
In addition to the aircraft awards, Ward placed third in a bomb event, second in a shooting event and won the 15 low-angle high-drag pop delivery event. These events were based on the grading criteria of weapons impact locations and number of rounds fired.
Ward was also named the top performing pilot of the competition, winning the Robert “Muck” Brown Trophy, named in honor of the legendary A-10 pilot and instructor.
As only his second time competing in Hawgsmoke, Ward was excited to go for the same reason as Goulette: camaraderie in the A-10 community.
“It was an amazing opportunity to congregate with fellow A-10 pilots, many of whom are friends, and discuss tactics, techniques and procedures that are working most effectively for A-10 worldwide,” Ward said.
Also notably, the 107th Fighter Squadron placed third in the “Team Maverick” competition, with simulated air-to-ground missile employment.
Descended from the Air Force’s “Gunsmoke” competition, held irregularly from 1949 to 1995, according to the website, the inaugural Hawgsmoke was held at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center in Alpena, Michigan in 2000 and hosted by then 172nd Fighter Squadron, Battle Creek, Mich. This year, some Michigan Airmen brought a big piece of the competition home.
“The team effort between operations and maintenance during this trip was phenomenal and the resulting awards show the effort and true esprit de corps of the organization,” Ward
| Date Taken: | 10.25.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 10.26.2018 11:46 |
| Story ID: | 297849 |
| Location: | SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, MICHIGAN, US |
| Web Views: | 469 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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