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380AEW Article

MUNS Airmen generate explosive results in support of OIR

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jeff Andrejcik
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing
Southwest Asia --  The U.S. Air Force is capable of breaking the enemies’ will when its air frames deliver crushing offensives with a concentration of strategically placed munitions.

Those munitions are what degrade and strike fear in the current enemy, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, otherwise known as ISIL or Da’ish.

Airmen who specialize in the ammo department have had a significant role in Operation INHERENT RESOLVE, a campaign with a key objective to eliminate ISIL, since it began in August 2014.

“Our main function is to provide the Air Force’s fire power,” said Senior Master Sgt. Plez, Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron munitions production superintendent. “Our Ammo professionals work hard night and day to provide safe, reliable, and effective weapons in support of OIR.”

In the past four months alone, munitions contributions have eliminated 300 enemy combatants and over 120 enemy facilities.

They’ve also hit two notable milestones during their tenure. They supplied 53 munitions in one day; the most bombs distributed and dropped by a unit in a single day during OIR. Additionally, they provided the first small diameter bomb dropped by an F-22 Raptor enabling it to conduct close air support.

The ammo team is comprised of three distinct sections, which include a system, material and production flight. All three sections work congruently to meet the requests for munitions.

These Airmen have a substantial obligation to the current campaign and it’s their support, which make critical impacts on the battlefield. Simply put, air strikes can only be effective if they are equipped with the weapons produced by ammo troops.

“The munitions we assemble serve multiple purposes; aside from the obvious, which is the total destruction to enemies of the U.S. and our Coalition partners, we’ve been responsible for building propaganda leaflet munitions, which cripple ISIL recruiting efforts,” said Plez.

The ammo team brings a definitive advantage to combat operations and have given the Air Force and its counterparts the upper-hand on an asymmetric frontline.

They produce a number of various munitions, and each yields different effects on the battlefield. Those effects have led to the elimination of ISIL’s facilities, equipment and personnel.

Tech. Sgt. Jason, Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron non-commissioned officer in charge conventional munitions maintenance, said there’s nowhere the enemy can run or hide because these bombs can penetrate fortified structures and also adapt to moving targets.

“We build a number of different munitions, which include the Guided Bomb Unit 31 version 3, 32, 38, 54 and 20 millimeter ammo,” said Jason. “The bombs have different features, depending on how its detonation configuration is set; those settings are air burst, instantaneous and delay. Each bomb is designed for specific missions but they all have the flexibility to be used on hardened or unhardened targets.”

The adversary, sometimes known for their unpredictable style of warfare, presents a challenge, but with the bombs fabricated by ammo, the enemy is forced back onto their heels and into a tactical disadvantage.

Plez added a saying within the ammo family, which was made famous by the movie Patton …”We provide the enemy the opportunity to die for their country.”

In this case, munitions personnel have done just that, picking apart and destroying ISIL with each manufactured and dropped bomb.

“A love of our nation and the freedom we all enjoy is why our ammo Airmen do this and why they do it so well,” said Plez. We’re focused on taking the fight to our enemies here and preventing it from happening in our backyards.”

(Editor’s note: Due to safety and security reasons, last names were removed.)