BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- U.S. Airman First Class Morgan Strausser, 455th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron line delivery crew chief, is responsible for getting munitions to the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft before each take off, ensuring F-16 pilots have fully loaded aircraft to complete the combat airpower mission in Afghanistan.
Before pilots take off for a mission, Morgan gathers munitions, transfers them to an F-16 and then a crew uploads them onto the aircraft. When the aircraft returns from the mission, Morgan and her team downloads the ammo and takes them to another shop to be tested.
“If we didn’t have ammo to take to the jets, then we wouldn’t be able to fight the mission here,” Morgan said. “I’ve been doing this for three months now and I really enjoy working outside and getting to interact with other shops out on the line. I feel proud to be a part of the ammo team; we definitely have a big impact here.”
Strausser is part of the ‘1000s of Hands’ of 455 AEW Airmen who are crucial to the wing’s mission to generate and sustain airpower on the combat frontier of Afghanistan’s NATO’s Resolute Support mission and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. The ‘1000s of Hands’ project highlights Vulture Airmen who have a hand in delivering a blanket of steel, technology and courage to protect the force in the field and support Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.