4th FW Airmen: first again

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Mariah Tolbert
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 335th Fighter Squadron and Aircraft Maintenance Unit participated in exercise Combat Hammer at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Aug. 10 - 20.

Team Seymour Airmen exceeded standards and were recognized for their participation and teamwork throughout the exercise.

Airmen from the 4th Operations Group performed well above average compared to scores achieved during the previous five exercises, said Lt. Col. David Moeller, 335th Fighter Squadron commander.

The exercise tested 12 F-15E Strike Eagles and approximately 200 Airmen from Seymour Johnson on their reliability and accuracy in a realistic tactical scenario. The program covered everything from bombs, weapon loading and F-15E target engagement.

"Airmen built, loaded and employed 50 inert and live bombs, along with several thousand rounds of 20 mm bullets from our F-15E Strike Eagles," said Capt. Brandon Glass, 335th Maintenance Unit officer in charge. "Data was collected and will be studied by engineers and strategies will be developed to further enhance each weapon's effectiveness in the battlefield."

For exercise Combat Hammer, the average hit rate for the F-15E is about 25 percent; Airmen of Seymour Johnson doubled that with a hit rate of 50 percent, Moeller said.

In addition to collecting data for F-15Es Air Force-wide, during the exercise Seymour Johnson Airmen were commended for their cohesiveness and teamwork, setting new benchmarks with their performance.

"The 335th AMU team was recognized as "excellent" in all of the four categories of evaluation and lauded by the 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron commander as the best maintenance performance in the history of Combat Hammer," Glass said. "We achieved 100 percent of our sorties with zero ground aborts or spare utilization. This is a rare feat for F-15Es."

Along with these accomplishments, five Airmen from Seymour Johnson received other awards.
Staff Sgt. Steven McKenzie, 4th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and Airman 1st Class Tommie Campbell, 4th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, were both recognized as outstanding performers. In addition, Staff Sgt. Brandon Snyder and Senior Airmen Ashley Parker and Derek Redfield, from the 4th AMXS, were distinguished as the outstanding weapons load crew.

"All of our Airmen on the line are professional, motivated and excellent at what they do," said Capt. Matthew Bar, 335th Fighter Squadron pilot and scheduler. "The talent of our Airmen, along with their first class leadership, produced the kinds of achievements we saw at Hill."

At the end of exercise Combat Hammer, Team Seymour walked away with another successful and beneficial learning experience under its belt.

"I am incredibly proud and honored to lead and serve this group of exceptional Americans," Glass said. "I was inspired by intelligence, dedication to service and urgency in execution that all these Airmen displayed while meeting a tough flying schedule at Hill. I feel lucky to be a part of this team and to be a 335th Chief. These men and women maintained the pride, passion and professionalism that is expected of all Airmen and honored the legacy of the mighty 4th Fighter Wing."