355th MUNS builds bombs and comradery

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Alex Miller
  • 355th Munitions Squadron

355th Munitions Squadron Airmen conducted training starting early April 2022, to prepare for the upcoming Air Force Combat Operations Competition.

AFCOCOMP is an annual munitions-building competition designed to test participants on all of the aspects used by ammo personnel in wartime operations.

Each command allows a single team from each of its bases to be evaluated for an opportunity to represent the command. The best teams in the command go head-to-head to determine which command has the most efficient team.

“Our 10-Airmen team spent three weeks increasing their ability to operate as an efficient mass production bomb building team,” said Senior Master Sgt. Corey Strain, 355th MUNS production flight chief. “Additionally, they practiced installing bomb fuses, airfoil groups, and other components into 500 and 2,000 pound bombs to demonstrate their ability to rapidly support an Air-Tasking-Order requiring large ordnance items.”

Strain said it provides a training opportunity for noncommissioned officers and Airmen they don’t normally get during day-to-day operations.

“Munitions experts normally tailor daily operations to small batches of training items and our techniques can be vastly different than in a contingency scenario,” said Master Sgt. Adam Champion, 355th MUNS production supervisor. “AFCOCOMP gives the Airmen a chance to set-up the equipment and swiftly assemble munitions utilizing wartime techniques.”

A team from Air Combat Command headquarters evaluated the 355th MUNS team here on June 27th. The team was notified July 6th, that they had placed second overall for ACC.

“Over the three weeks we trained, we battled COVID, injuries and the heat,” said Champion. “To have the variables and conditions we battled through, I could not have been more proud of this team. Everyone learned a lot on the different aspects of our career field and friendships were built by people that had never met before.”

Champion believes the great mix of skill levels, backgrounds and experiences helped the 355th MUNS team work together towards success.