F-22 Raptor load crew competition

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Sheila deVera
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Airmen from the 90th and 525th Aircraft Maintenance Units work around the clock to provide support for F-22 Raptors; their skills on timeliness and work proficiencies were put to the test during the quarterly load crew competition, April 15, 2016, at Hangar 27. 

Quarterly load crew competitions showcase the combat readiness and effectiveness of load crew teams' ability to safely and properly arm an aircraft to meet mission challenges.

This year's load crew competition will feature the AIM-9X missile, which is new to the F-22 weapons.

"The AIM-9X Advanced Sidewinder is the newest air-to-air missile added to the Air Force inventory and the most advanced heat seeking missile in the world," said Tech. Sgt. Matthew Davis, 3rd Maintenance Group loading standardization crew team chief. "Like the F-22 Raptor, it is a fifth generation weapon and both share a similar trait: it's supersonic speed and thrust vectoring make it faster and more maneuverable than any previous model."

The 3rd Wing is the first operational F-22 unit to fly with the AIM-9X, Davis said.

The competition kicked off at 8 a.m. The best crew with no loading evaluation fails, quality-assurance tech-data violations or detected safety violations will be representing their unit.

"We don't get a lot of interaction with the [90th FS] unit, so having this event allows us to interact with the other unit in a friendly competition," said Airman 1st Class Jacob Nile, 525th AMU weapons load crew member. "We have [everyone] give it their all and see who the best [between the two units] is."

The 90th AMU 'Pair-o-Dice' and 525th AMU 'Bulldogs' team consists of three crew members, and each plays a different role. A load crew chief will be in charge of the loading operation, while the two crew members will be performing aircraft and munition preparations.

Both teams will start out with 1,000 points and are evaluated in 12 areas. They will incorporate a

6.5-inch extension modification to the missile launcher, weapons system software upgrade, and a

14-inch adapter installed on the rocket motor of the AIM-9X.

During the competition, the evaluators observe the proficiency of the crew members and note the importance of following their technical order.

"[As an evaluator], we need to make sure they are doing it correctly," said Senior Airman Brandon Shibata, 3rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron lead crew member. "It is very critical to not make any mistake, because when the real-world [scenarios] happen, we need to make sure they are doing it right. One minor mistake can lead to bigger things and can potentially cost lives."

'Pair-o-Dice' members are: Staff Sgt. Biana Fregia, Senior Airman Scott Foster, and Airman 1st Class Kendal Henthorn.

Bulldog's members are: Staff Sgt. Michael Russell, Airmen 1st class Samuel Butler and Jacob Niles.

The winner of this year's first quarter load crew competition was the 90th FS, earning 650 points.