An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | June 22, 2012

Afghanistan: South Carolina Air Guard "Swamp Foxes" ensure effective air support firepower

By Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. Stephen Hudson 169th Fighter Wing

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - The work is hot and dusty for the "Ammo Dawgs" of the South Carolina Air National Guard's 169th Fighter Wing currently assigned to the 451st Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron here, and though it occurs behind the scenes it's crucial – others count on it.

Supplying firepower to South Carolina Air Guard F-16 Fighting Falcons, these Airmen work tirelessly here at the Tri-national Ammunition Supply Point, ensuring that ground forces can rely on the air support overhead to put the firepower where it's needed.

"We build the bombs that make the planes lethal," said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Wendell Rollins, a munitions specialist from the 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C. "There are times we load an aircraft and we know in just a few minutes it is going to take off for a mission."

The ordinance is a life saver for the guys on the ground and the Airmen who build the munitions know their work can mean life or death for Soldiers and Marines who need the ordinance to work right the first time and every time.

The mission of the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing is that of a persistent powerful presence, and the members of the 169th Fighter Wing, who are deployed here in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, are at the leading edge of that mission. The "Swamp Fox" F-16 pilots provide close air support and their role is critical to the ground troops they may never meet.

Work goes on around the clock at the Tri-National Ammunition Supply Point seven days a week, building primarily GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions and GBU-54 Laser JDAMs. They also work with anything on the F-16 including 20mm rounds, chaff, and flares.

Since the "Swamp Foxes" have rotated to Kandahar Airfield in April they have built more than 25,000 pounds of munitions.

"It is serious business," said Air Force Senior Airman Sherman Padgett, a munitions specialist also currently assigned to the 451st EMXS. "Someone is counting on these bombs, and if they don't function then our guys could be dying."

The hard work of the munitions troops is not lost on the pilots who count on the work.

"The people in munitions are directly responsible for the confidence the guys on the ground have in Vipers' efficiency in close air support," said Air Force Capt. John Sparks, an F-16 pilot with the South Carolina Air National Guard's 169th Fighter Wing deployed to Kandahar Airfield. "A lot of trust is put in the weapons working the correct way the first time."

This critical work will go on as long as there is a need and the Airmen who work in munitions will press on knowing the importance and value of what they do.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...