Photo By Kristen Keehan | 1st Lt Stephanie Walker of the 104th Fighter Wing and Tech. Sgt Daniel Glass of the...... read more read more
VOLK FIELD, Wis. — This year’s Ammo Rodeo had weapons and munitions specialists from 22 Air National Guard and active duty Air Force units from across the nation training and competing in an event that fostered innovation in a challenging yet safe environment.
Munitions personnel — who build the bombs and deliver them to the flightline — and weapons personnel — who load the bombs onto aircraft and unload them if necessary — typically don’t train together, but depend on each other for their missions.
“We have learned that it is extremely beneficial to have the munitions and weapons personnel together, as the weapons personnel learn that there is a lot more to that bomb being delivered and what goes into building it,” said Senior Master Sgt. Charlie Weyers, munitions flight chief at Volk Field.
In a rapidly evolving munitions technologies and strategies environment, this training is essential to supporting readiness.
“The munitions personnel learn what the weapons personnel are looking for when we deliver it,” Weyers said.
For the 2024 Ammo Rodeo, participants were divided into three groups of 18 people, consisting of one officer and 17 enlisted. Of those, four were weapons specialists and 13 were munitions specialists. The first week of the Rodeo was hands-on training, while the second week was the official competition.
Teams were graded on technical accuracy, data and safety violations, and time. Volk Field supplied four munitions personnel who functioned as instructors for the first week and evaluators for the second.
During the two-week Ammo Rodeo, teams logged nearly 5,000 hours of training and built a total of 279,000 pounds of bombs between the classroom and competition portions.
Senior Airman Jasmin Sanchez, from Malstrom Air Force Base in Cascade County, Montana, said she enjoyed her time at the Ammo Rodeo.
“I learned a lot from not only my instructors, but peers as well,” she said, lauding the variety of training from bombs to missiles to trailers and more.
“Great learning environment with great leadership,” said Senior Airman Matthew Vetter from the Indiana Air National Guard’s 122nd Fighter Wing. “I feel a lot more confident in my leadership abilities and munitions building. I also feel more confident in the event of a deployment.”
The Ammo Rodeo began in 2017 after careful coordination with the National Guard Bureau and the Air Force logistics section. Since then, the event has consistently pushed the innovation envelope and established itself as one of the most relevant training venues for the munitions career fields. This year’s competition included several changes to prepare participants for real-world scenarios.
“We expanded the cross-Air Force Specialty Code involvement,” Weyers explained, referring to military occupations, “by increasing the number of weapons troops per team to four from two. We added in the full realism of a no-notice forward deploy mission, including an actual airlift portion and bare base logistical challenges never done before in the Air Force.”
The bare base training scenario included a limited command and control environment while under attack.
The Minnesota Air National Guard’s 133rd Airlift Wing supported the airlift portion of the training to simulate a deployed training environment.
“This was a great opportunity for any ammo or weapons troop to learn and get a bigger picture of what ammo does,” said 1st Lt. Justin Shaffer of the Ohio Air National Guard’s 180th Fighter Wing. He added that the forward deploy scenario made him realize “all the little things you need.”
The Ammo Rodeo took place July 15-26. Volk Field is already planning next year’s Ammo Rodeo, and Weyers said they aim to surpass this year’s event.
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.16.2024 12:45 |
| Story ID: | 480971 |
| Location: | CAMP DOUGLAS, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 45 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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