ammochiefs.com

Dues for the 2010 membership year should have been paid by January 31st. If you are delinquent please pay at the earliest opportunity. If your membership has lapsed you can be reinstated by paying the current year, $25. Send checks to the ACA Secretary, 6046 SW 98 Loop, Ocala, FL, 34476

The ACA needs someone who will take over and manage the web-site. This is a vital position for the Association as the Web-Site provides a window for the outside world. Rich McVey has been the Web-Master from the very beginning (10 years) and  has asked to be allowed to retire! If you would like to step-up or know a skilled young Ammo Troop who would like to help out please contact me at Fohern@aol.com.

The U.S. Air Force is accessing Prior Service AMMO Troops (2W0XX) with Specific Years of Completed Service.  This is being done to fill gaps in experience in the workforce that cannot be satisfied through normal accessions and workforce sustaining actions (Category 2 AFSC).  The chart below identifies the completed years of service required to be eligible and the number of prior service 2W0XX the USAF is seeking to bring back in to the active ranks. 

For Example in the chart below: The Air Force is accessing 33 prior 2W0XX troops with 10 years of completed service and 65 troops with 15 years of completed service.  This is a hugh opportunity for troops that separated and are having second thoughts about their decision. 

For more information and specific eligibility requirements, contact the Munitions Career Field Manager, Chief Scott Heisterkamp (AF/A4LW) at DSN: 225-0780 or Comm: (703) 695-0780, the Air Force Personnel Center, or the Air Force Recruiting Service.

 http://www.nwvawoundedwarrior.org/

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 Information Provided by: Rich Pennngton

Beyond question, General Marquez understood a peacetime atmosphere is not a good training ground for the rigors of wartime munitions tasking orders. He also understood, before it was too late, before we had lost much of the expertise in producing massive frags gained during the Vietnam War, that we needed an institution that perpetuated the knowledge we had gained and helped preclude some of the disasters we had experienced. AFCOMAC perpetuates that knowledge and provides a scenario where in a peacetime world AMMO troops get a real-world feel for the demands of a wartime environment.  

The following Beale AFB News Article came out in 2006 – on the 20th
anniversary:

AFCOMAC celebrates 20-year anniversary

Posted 10/6/2006   Updated 10/6/2006  Email story   Print story

by Airman 1st Class George Cloutier
9th RW Public Affairs

10/6/2006 – Beale AFB, Calif. — One of Beale’s least known units in
fighting the Global War on Terror is celebrating its 20th anniversary today.

The 9th munitions squadron, or the Air Force Combat Ammunition Center, has
consistently provided the Air Force with the finest training for ammo troops
for two decades, teaching Airmen the skills they need to take the fight to
the enemy.

AFCOMAC is a mandatory course for those in the munitions career field who
are training for their seven and nine-level status.

“When you look back at the history, AFCOMAC was started because of the draw
back that happened after the Vietnam War, because there weren’t as many
people putting bombs together in a combat setting,” said Maj. Jeffrey
Stremmel, AFCOMAC commander. “Lt. Gen. Leo Marquez put together an action
team to look at this, and the team came back to him with the idea for
AFCOMAC.”

One of the major faults the action team found with the training munitions
troops were receiving was the fact that there was little to no realistic
training taking place, according to Major Stremmel.

“General Marquez then told his team to build the bombs for real, and they
found out they lacked that vital skill,” said Chief Master Sgt. Partrick
Adams, AFCOMAC munitions superintendent. “The bottom line is that they were
not able to build the bombs as they would need to in a real combat setting.”

After it was realized that ammo troops lacked such critical skills, AFCOMAC
was set up to give troops the realistic training they would need to perform
in a real wartime scenario.

“This program was originally introduced to the Air Force in 1986, when it
was at the Sierra Army Detachment in Herlong, Calif.,” said Senior Master
Sgt. David Nixon, AFCOMAC munitions flight chief.

While much has changed in the munitions world over the years, the core
facets of the training program have remained intact.

“From the outside, you might not think the program has changed all that
much,” Chief Adams said. “If you just measured the number of bombs with the
number of days in the exercise, if you look at it in numbers, you might
think it hasn’t changed at all.”

Though on the outside the program may seem the same, AFCOMAC has stayed up
to date with the latest munitions technology, according to Chief Adams.

“Back when I first came through, we were in the middle of the cold war and
were making a lot of dumb bombs,” he said. “Seeing it again I’m just amazed
at how this school has managed to help stay in touch with the Air Force
munitions mission.”

“One of the ways the school has managed to stay in touch with the Air Force
mission is by the emphasis the course now puts on smart munitions,” Major
Stremmel said. “As the years have gone by, we’ve developed more varieties of
smart weapons.”

When the school made the jump to smart munitions, other facets of the course
changed as well.

“One of the major changes we made in the late 90s was doubling the number of
students that made precision guided munitions,” the chief said. “We were
trying to get 60 to 70 percent of our munitions to precision guided
munitions. When we made that change, we doubled the amount of people we were
putting through the course. Our classes now have 70 Airmen each.”

Since then, AFCOMAC students have used the knowledge they obtain from the
course to rain fire on the enemy, according to the major.

“I know we’ve provided realistic training to the career field supporting
combat operations,” Major Stremmel said. “When Al-Zarqawi was taken out in
June, it was done with two 500-pound bombs. The professionals who put those
bombs together came through this school.”

Students and instructors of the school have also contributed in other ways
over the years as the war on terror has raged on.

“When Desert Storm started, the school was closed down, and they sent
AFCOMAC down range to build bombs and run operations,” Chief Adams said.
“Some guys went to the Pentagon Air Operations Center. Some went to Air
Force Central Command Air Operations Center. When Operation Iraqi Freedom
kicked off, the whole unit shut down and forward deployed.”

Throughout the Global War on Terror and even before, the AFCOMAC mission has
been and will remain a critical asset to the Air Force.

“We’ve made huge contributions throughout the years,” Chief Adams said.

The Air Force can be proud knowing that Beale’s Ammo Warriors are on the
job.

As we approach the 50^th Anniversary of the rank of Chief Master Sergeant it is an opportune time to identify and honor the Air Forces first Ammo Chief’s. This has been attempted on several occasions since the forming of the Ammo Chief’s Association and we have not been able to pin down a specific individual. The following link is to the Chief Promotion Roster for the first cycle of CMSgt’s in 1959; individuals were selected and promoted with dates of rank of 1 December 1959 and 1 June 1960:

 http://www.scribd.com/doc/1420999/US-Air-Force-Original20Chief20List20all201700

I have identified two Ammo Chiefs on the 1 June 60 list, i.e. CMSgt Wilbur R. Barrentine and CMSgt Harold Prevett.

We would appreciate everyone browsing through the lists and see if you recognize any other names that can be included as the First Ammo Chiefs.

We should keep in mind that at the time they were promoted the first Chief’s may have been  462’s as SAC administratively converted all SAC 461X0s to 462 in 59/60. Also at those days the EOD AFSC was 461X1 and 9-levels moved freely between EOD and Ammo as you had to be Ammo to become EOD

As a point of interest on the 1 June 60 list is CMSgt Walter Bell (EOD 461X1). Chief Bell was a survivor of the Bataan Death March. I have recently learned of two other Ammo troops who were on the Bataan Death March, Lt Col Herb Tyson and SSgt Jessie White. If anyone out there knows of others please let us know so we can start to compile a “Roll of Honor”.

Responses to Fred at fohern@aol.com or ACASecretary@aol.com.