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Weapons safety keeps munitions ‘buttoned up’

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Safety Office develops, implements, executes and evaluates Air Force aviation, ground, weapons, space and system mishap prevention and nuclear surety programs and policy. The agency oversees mishap investigations, evaluates corrective actions, ensures implementation and maintains the mishap database wing-wide. It also conducts research to promote safety awareness/mishap prevention and develops and directs safety and risk management education and media programs.

There are three distinct sections within safety responsible for a variety of programs within their respective subject matters. These sections include weapons, ground and flight. Over the next couple weeks, their unique missions will become clearer as part of Air Force Safety Month series beginning with Weapons Safety.

"Our main focus in weapons safety is to expose the minimum amount of people to the minimum amount of explosives for a minimum amount of time," said Master Sgt. Christopher Johnson, the 379th AEW weapons safety manager. "Everything I do is derived from that principle."

Weapons safety provides nuclear, conventional and directed energy weapons systems safety design certification, Hazard of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance certification, Air Force explosives safety standards, explosive siting reviews, and weapons safety consultation for the wing commander and beyond.

"It's really an operational risk management process with an explosive impact," Johnson said.

Unlike their counterparts in ground safety, who joined the Air Force as safety specialists, weapons safety managers come from one of three distinct career fields including aircraft armament systems specialist, munitions systems specialist and nuclear weapons specialist. WSMs must be at least a 7-level in their respective AF specialty and complete the Weapons Safety Course within six months of their appointment.

"We usually do two years as WSMs and then go back to our respective career fields," said Johnson, the munitions troop by trade permanently stationed here for one year. "I'm fortunate enough to have done it [WSM] for five years now."

With connections all across the installation, Johnson works with just about every unit as munitions are an important aspect of the 379th's mission.

"Without an explosive site plan and other programs I maintain here, we wouldn't be allowed to have explosives," he said. "In that case we'd be a pretty fast airliner. Without bombs and explosives -- you don't have a combat oriented mission."

According to AFI 91-202, Johnson is also required to perform spot inspections on the various "bomb dumps" within the installation to ensure the safety and security of all munitions on base.

"It gives me a good opportunity to give our weapons storage areas a good hard look and make sure everything is being maintained properly," Johnson said. "I'm happy to be here and make sure our mission is completed with all hands."

[Editor's note: This story is part one of a three-part series highlighting the three sections of wing safety.]