Sailors Hit the Elmendorf "Beach" to Load Ordnance at Northern Edge

  • Published
  • By SSgt Eric Hamilton
  • Elmendorf Joint Information Bureau
Elmendorf AFB, AK --  The seven ordinancemen of the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC) here for NORTHERN EDGE are a tight-knit group. Though stationed in Fallon, Nevada, (also known as "Top Gun"), these ordinance sailors are here to support four U.S. Navy jets with inert weapons systems and training equipment.

How do they feel about Alaska? According to Aviation Ordinanceman (AO) 1 Nate J. Stuart, "It's been a blast. The weather's nice, especially compared to Nevada right now, and the scenery's beautiful. And earlier today in the galley, a moose came right up to us. The only thing between us was glass."

The travel experience was pretty smooth, Stuart said. AOs travel light, "two bags with the basic amenities and a lot of entertainment stuff." He said that life on the "beach," which sailors consider any land-based duty, is a lot easier than typical ship duty for an ordinanceman.

The sailors agreed that Alaska's biggest challenge was getting to sleep with the long hours of daylight. Despite that difficulty, Stuart said that the nine-hour workdays of this exercise weren't as challenging or intense as working on the flight deck of an air carrier. "I miss the flight deck," he said. "It's three and a half acres of jet-fueled afterburner intensity."

"And 18 hours of work and adrenalin," added Aviation Ordinanceman (AO) 2 Jason Y. McMeans. "It's non-stop pandemonium." Because of this, crewmen newly assigned to the flight deck are paired with a buddy, whose job it is to look out for and train up the newbie. "They learn about free shot lines, foul deck lines," McMeans said. They also learn to avoid afterburners in close quarters.

As the sailors talked wistfully about their times on the flight deck, it was clear that for those who've experienced it, the impact was a significant bonding experience. "AOs are among the tightest of groups in the Navy," Stuart said. "It's a big thing to be an AO."