BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- The 2nd Maintenance Group held their load crew of the quarter competition Feb. 16, 2018 at the Weapons Load Training Facility.
The competition showcases the skills and mission readiness of each team participating from the 20th and 96th Aircraft Maintenance Unit.
“Both teams loaded two GBU-38 munitions and were evaluated to make sure they could do so safely and reliably,” said Tech Sgt. Jason Early, 2nd MXG loading standardization crew member and load competition evaluator. “This is a very serious job that we do, but you have to put some level of fun in it.”
Out of all of the crews in the 20th and 96th AMUs, only one crew from each AMU is chosen to compete each quarter.
“These crews are loading at a minimum of once a month and each quarter they are loading pretty much every munition,” Early said. “Once a month is just the minimum requirement and a lot of times these teams will load two to three times a month to be evaluated on loading. The top crews of each quarter get selected to participate in the event.”
After a rigorous morning of competition, which included a uniform and toolbox inspection, a knowledge based test and the load, the 96th AMU load team was victorious, but for the load team Airmen it’s not just about the competition.
“It’s the camaraderie. It gets everybody together and lets them see what we do behind the scenes and what it takes to load,” said Senior Airman Monte Ward, 96th AMU crew member. “I feel this competition keeps us on point. Our higher leadership comes out to watch and that’s important to us so they can see our capabilities, how we go through the motions, and how accurate and precise we have to be.”
The competition is held every quarter at the WLT and is open to those who would like to attend.