Photo By Tech. Sgt. Sara Kolinski | Tech. Sgt. Joseph Adamowicz, Tech. Sgt. Josue Mayorga-Barrios, and Airman 1st Class...... read more read more
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Three munitions Airmen from the 104th Fighter Wing trained on a live range, bolstering skills necessary for the evolving mission of the 104 FW, August 21-25, 2023, at Fort Drum, New York.
During the week of training, Tech. Sgt. Joseph Adamowicz, Tech. Sgt. Josue Mayorga-Barrios, and Airman 1st Class Benjamin Garland, 104th Fighter Wing munition systems technicians, provided support to live range exercises at Fort Drum, where they played a pivotal role in training pilots and maintaining munition assets.
Fort Drum boasts a live range where various units conduct live drop exercises, making it a crucial hub for honing the skills of military personnel. Adamowicz has been leading quarterly trainings at Fort Drum for the past six months for his munitions troops to receive exceptional, hands-on training.
“The purpose is to support pilot training as far as their live drop capabilities go, and the individual pilot training that it entails,” said Adamowicz. “On our end, as far as ammo goes, we support it by training on all of our live asset builds.”
Adamowicz stated that during the most recent training iteration, his team was responsible for training and preparation of various munitions including Guided Bomb Unit 12s, 500lb GBUs, 500lb non-guided bombs, Mk 82s, 2.75 inch light phosphorus rockets, and 30mm bullets.
“We’re there to build up all of the assets, to build up all of the bombs, make sure that components are installed right, and that everything is working properly inspection-wise,” said Adamowicz. “Then after the assets are dropped, we recount for that and expend properly.”
During their time at Fort Drum, the 104 FW collaborated with the 175th Wing from Baltimore, an A-10 squadron. This collaboration was essential to make such a high intensity training possible and allowed the 104 FW munitions technicians to prepare for the approaching conversion from the F-15 to the F-35 which brings with it a change of mission from air-to air to air-to-ground.
“When we were there, we were doing 16 bomb builds a day, along with about 24 rockets a day,” said Adamowicz. “We go out there to help them and it’s good training for us, because being an air-to-air unit, we don’t get a lot of bomb build training. With the F-35 conversion, it’s really good training for us to go up there and get back to that routine of bomb building.”
These trips provide an opportunity for the team to refresh their skills and pass on expertise to other members. The team brings back what they learned to their unit, ensuring the entire team is well-versed in munition assets, which is vital for ensuring readiness and a seamless transition to the new F-35 aircraft at the 104 FW.
“As far as munitions assets that we build at Fort Drum, many of those are specific assets that are going to be held with an F-35,” said Adamowicz. “Bringing that knowledge back here and having individuals who can disperse that knowledge throughout the shop and have everyone on that knowledge base is crucial.”
| Date Taken: | 09.28.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 10.03.2023 10:26 |
| Story ID: | 454605 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 104 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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