Weapons loaders arm F-16 for combat

U.S. Air Force load crew 3, right, and load crew 10, members with the 13th Aircraft Maintenance Units, stand in front of two F-16 Fighting Falcons before the annual load crew competition at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Jan. 20, 2017. For the competition, the Airmen were graded on four categories: loading munitions, a written-test assessment, dress and appearance and a composite tool inspection. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brittany A. Chase)

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Weapons loaders arm F-16 for combat

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Brian Arborgast, the team chief with the 13th Aircraft Maintenance Unit load crew 10, checks a handheld technical order as his team, Airman 1st Class Hassan Cole, center, and A1C Korey Giffin-Pope, both load crew 10 team members with the 13th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, during the annual load crew competition at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Jan. 20, 2017. During the competition, load crew team 3 and 10 raced against the clock, and each other, to arm an F-16 Fighting Falcon with one AIM-9 Sidewinder a short-range air-to-air missile, one AIM-120 advanced medium range air-to-air missile, an AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile and a Joint Direct Attack Munition GBU 31 (v) 3/B. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brittany A. Chase)

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Weapons loaders arm F-16 for combat

U.S. Air Force Airmen with the 13th Aircraft Maintenance Unit load crew 10, mount a Joint Direct Attack Munition GBU 31 (v) 3/B during the annual load crew competition at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Jan. 20, 2017. The JDAM is a guidance tail kit that converts existing unguided free-fall bombs into accurate, adverse weather "smart" munitions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brittany A. Chase)

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Weapons loaders arm F-16 for combat

U.S. Air Force Airmen with the 13th Aircraft Maintenance Unit load crew 10, mount an AIM-120 advanced medium range air-to-air missile during the annual load crew competition at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Jan. 20, 2017. The AMRAAM missile is a versatile weapon with operational flexibility in a wide variety of scenarios, including air-to-air and surface-launch engagements. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brittany A. Chase)

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Weapons loaders arm F-16 for combat

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Daniel Miller, the 2-man with the 13th Aircraft Maintenance Unit load crew 3, checks a panel during the annual load crew competition at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Jan. 20, 2017. Both quality and speed were judged during the competition by weapons standardization Airmen with the 35th Maintenance Group. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brittany A. Chase)

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Weapons loaders arm F-16 for combat

U.S. Air Force Airmen with the 13th Aircraft Maintenance Unit load crew 3, carry an AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile during the annual load crew competition at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Jan. 20, 2017. The AIM-9 Sidewinder, is effective in both air-to-air and surface-to-air applications. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brittany A. Chase)

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Weapons loaders arm F-16 for combat

Published Jan. 23, 2017
By Senior Airman Brittany A. Chase
35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --

Weapons load crews from the 13th and 14th Aircraft Maintenance Units dueled each quarter to decide who would face off in the Jan. 20 annual weapons load crew competition.

The two winning teams, both from the 13th AMU, who faced off head-to-head for the top crew, were:

Crew 3: Crew 10:

Staff Sgt. Sean Lynn, team chief/1-man Staff Sgt. Brian Arborgast, team chief/1-man

Senior Airman Daniel Miller, 2-man Airman 1st Class Hassan Cole, 2-man

Airman 1st Class Alec Walker, 3-man Airman 1st Class Korey Giffin-Pope, 3-man

“To be eligible, each team has to complete the whole year with zero direct safety violations, technical data violations or any other fails from quality assurance,” said Tech. Sgt. Matthew Rearick, 35th Maintenance Squadron lead standard crew 3-man. “They also have to win at least one quarterly competition.”

The teams raced against the clock, and each other, to arm an F-16 Fighting Falcon with one AIM-9 Sidewinder, a short-range air-to-air missile, one AIM-120 advanced medium range air-to-air missile, an AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile and a Joint Direct Attack Munition GBU 31 (v) 3/B.

“For a while there, both teams were very close,” recalled Rearick. “Crew 10 had a minor hiccup with sliding on the AIM-120, but other than that both teams did a great job.”

During the competition, weapons standardization Airmen with the 35th Maintenance Group judged both on quality and speed.

“The purpose of these load competitions is to help push the crews to be better,” said Rearick. “It also gives the teams friendly banter and competition throughout the squadrons.”

Although crew 3 finished loading the munitions first, both load crews were graded on four categories: loading munitions, a test assessment, dress and appearance and a composite tool inspection. The team with the fewest discrepancies will be crowned the winner at this year's Maintenance Professional of the Year ceremony slated for March 31.

“I think everything went really well,” said Staff Sgt. Sean Lynn, 13th AMU crew 3 team chief and 1-man. “My guys and I came out here and did the best we could today. Everything went really smooth and we took our time and made sure we did everything right. Ultimately I hope we come out on top.”