Osan Airmen host munitions exercise

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Eric Burks
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFNS) --  Members of the 51st Fighter Wing are hosting a mass munitions production exercise here through May 28.

Combat Ammunition Production Exercise 10 is an annual event conducted by Pacific Air Forces and 13th Air Force logistics staff, and evaluated by munitions Airmen from across the service.

The non-rated exercise, which began May 24, provides training in non-nuclear war reserve munitions production and assembly to support rigorous integrated tasking orders.

For 72 hours, 51st Munitions Squadron Airmen established continuous live munitions production at projected wartime consumption rates, breaking components out of storage to assemble a wide array of bombs, missiles and ammunition.

The exercise scenario is structured to provide 24-hour operations with a flying schedule/munitions production requirement based on actual war plans, said Master Sgt. James Cain, the 51st MUNS munitions accountable systems officer. Based on operational plans, 51st MUNS and integrated deployed Airmen from several PACAF installations assemble and deliver munitions ranging from guided, cluster and general-purpose bombs to rockets, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles.

"The overall goal of this exercise is to evaluate Osan's capability to generate munitions to support its wartime mission," said Col. Stephen Williams, the CAPEX 10 evaluation team lead.

When bases go through operational readiness inspections and exercises, there's a lot of artificiality involved when it comes to munitions, he said.

"They don't get to break out and build up live munitions, and there are a lot of simulations like 'half-up, half-down' where you build up 12 bombs on the pad, then tear them back down, and it counts as 24," he said.

One way such simulations are reduced at CAPEX is through the integration of "re-pack" and "in-check" operations, Colonel Williams said.

After munitions are built up at maintenance pads, they're delivered to "in-check" evaluators, who check the assembly of munitions for technical accuracy. Next, it's on to "re-pack," a dedicated crew that breaks everything back down and places the components into storage configuration.

The evaluation team is composed of experienced senior NCOs from across the Air Force, while roughly 50 PACAF Airmen support re-pack operations. Bringing in these teams allows munitions squadron Airmen to focus on the task at hand -- assembly and delivery of munitions to meet the mission.

"These exercises are one-of-a-kind ... you never work as hard as you do during CAPEX," said Senior Airman Tyler Reiter a member of the 51st MUNS who is working on the fin team for "big bombs" this week. "It definitely puts you through a lot of stress, but it's worth it in the end."

His team's role on the bomb pad is to check the fins, torque them onto munitions and ensure fuse settings are correct. The finished product is then loaded on a trailer, and it's on to the next one.

Depending on the size and type of munitions, Airman Reiter said it can take between five and 20 minutes per bomb from start to finish. At each step of the way, the team stringently adheres to technical orders, such as 11A-1-63 - Munitions Assembly Procedures, Inspection and Assembly of Non-nuclear Munitions.

"We follow the dash 63, which is the 'bomb bible', every step of the way," he said.

The exercise is one of the most unique and dynamic in the Air Force, Colonel Williams said. Scenarios are based on executing each wing's distinct primary capabilities.