ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. – The command chief of the 28th Bomb Wing attended an immersion tour with the 28th Munitions Squadron at Ellsworth AFB June 27, 2016.
During the tour, Chief Master Sgt. Sonia Lee was briefed on the importance of the squadron’s mission and met with several Airmen face-to-face for feedback on their respective shop’s daily routines.
“It’s very important to go out and look at what each organization does,” Lee said. “It gives me insight to what they’re actually doing, and puts things into perspective with manning and equipment challenges that I can help them with.”
The 28th MUNS contains more than 200 personnel tasked with 1,764 munitions line items worth $250 million, 678,500 pounds net explosive weight, 86 facilities and a 647-acre munitions storage area.
“I had an idea of what they do, and all you really pay attention to from the outside is ‘they make bombs,’” Lee said. “Seeing all the behind the scene details and work to construct a bomb made me realize they are their own supply chain, vehicle maintenance and much more. They’re a jack of all trades and I had no idea. It was very eye opening.”
Chief Lee spoke of the pride and enthusiasm the Airmen had, like Staff Sgt. Anthony Anderson, 28th MUNS conventional maintenance squadron crew chief and munitions inspector, had when it comes to accomplishing their mission and getting the payload out to the B-1 bombers.
“[Our munitions building team] had a mission where a bomb did not go off, and three troops lost their lives by the time the A-10 Warthog turned around to reengage the enemy,” Anderson said. “Whenever a bomb does not go off, I take it very personal. It has to be perfect every time.”
During the tour, munitions’ troops were able to express concerns and ideas for improvement while meeting the command chief, and Lee went through the process of constructing an inert training munition for a more hands-on perspective.
“I was very happy that I went to see this for myself because I would have never learned the things that I learned today,” Lee said. “We have the pilots that fly the plane, but if they don’t have a good bomb on the aircraft, the mission cannot be complete. The [munitions troops] are the ones who make it happen and it makes all the difference in the world. We just broke records and it’s because of them and how quick they’re turning the munitions around.”