917th Wing shines at Bomb Comp

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jeff Walston
  • 917 Wing
Barksdale AFB, LA --  Youth and experience proved to be a formidable combination as Reserve Airmen from the 917th Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, LA., took top honors in every event they competed in during Giant Sword II/Proud Shield II Bomb & Load Competition and Symposium, which was held at Barksdale over the last couple of weeks. The 917th Wing/93rd Bomb Squadron B-52 crew won Best Bomb B-52 and Proud Shield II Best Bomb.

One of the competition's top winning crews (917th Wing) was an all Reserve team selected from a group of 93rd Bomb Squadron flyers recently assigned to the new 917th Wing/2nd Bomb Wing classic associate unit, and is a mixture of experienced instructors and recently qualified captains.

This new squadron, tentatively slated to be named the 343rd Bomb Squadron, will be the first nuclear qualified U. S. Air Force Reserve bomb squadron in history. They are reservists, operationally assigned to support the regular Air Force's 2nd BW's mission.
The winning 343rd crew consisted of Capt. Andrew Baird, aircraft commander, Lt. Col. Jeff Stogsdill, co-pilot, Lt. Col. John Dorsey, electronic warfare officer, Lt. Col. Steve Smith, navigator, and Capt. Andrew Marshall, radar navigator.

"The B-52 and Team Barksdale won the top two spots for bombing accuracy and timing out of all of the bombers competing including the B-1s and B-2s. That says something about the B-52 and the great partnership we have between the 2d Bomb Wing and the 917th Wing here at Barksdale." said Col. Edmund D. Walker, commander, 917th Wing, Barksdale AFB. "I'm very proud of my guys."

Commenting on Bomb-Comp and the close working relationship between the 917th Wing and the 2d Bomb Wing, Col. Bob Nordberg, commander, 917th Operations Group, Barksdale AFB, La., said, "The incredible partnership we have with the Second Bomb Wing is vital to our success. I can't tell you how proud I am of these men, but what makes the victory all the more satisfying is the fact that this is a Team Barksdale win."

Members of the winning B-52 crew were happy to pass the praise around as they took congratulations after accepting the awards.

"The two youngest guys won it for us," said Lt. Col. Smith, who was the navigator on the 917 Wing's winning crew.

Both Captains Baird and Marshall are among the youngest members of the squadron.
In laymen's terms, Capt. Baird, as the aircraft commander, keeps the plane pointed in the direction of the target. A tenth of a degree off the mark could mean forty feet off a target. Capt. Marshall, as the radar navigator puts the bomb on the target. Any deviation from either of the captains could mean missing the mark. Together, they put it on a target.

Any number of factors can put a bomb off course and off target. If it is hard to fathom just how accurate these crews were in dropping gravity bombs from such a high altitude, then one only has to walk across a room and try dropping a penny into a cup on the floor five feet below. Now try that a 24,000 feet at 400 knots.

"The losing bomb was only 34 feet off and that is pretty significant. The winning crew was within one second on their timing. We know how to drop bombs, secure them and we are the best...perfection is our goal in the nuclear mission," Lieutenant General Robert Elder, Jr., 8th Air Force commander said.

For Capt. Baird, this was a one bomb - one kill, team effort. He said the entire crew worked together as a team to drop just one bomb during the competition. That one bomb was the winner for the B-52s.

Captain Andrew Marshall, who was described as a home-grown winner, spent 4 years as a crew chief with the 917 Aircraft Maintenance Squadron before getting his commission.

"I enjoyed every minute of working the flight line, but knew I wanted to fly since the start," Capt. Marshall said. "My grandfather was a B-47 Navigator, and ever since I can remember, that's what I wanted to do as well."

"This was a team effort. In the Reserves we have the advantage of the experienced working with the new," said Capt. Marshall. "I am looking forward to taking this experience into total force integration."

For the B-52 crew from the 917th Wing it was all smiles as they accepted their awards.

General Elder presided over the awards ceremony at Barksdale's Hoban Hall March 4, where trophies were presented to winning crews before what could be described as a delighted crowd of supporters.

This type of bombing competition has not been seen for over 15 years. General Elder would like to see the competition return as an annual event bringing more types of air frames and additional countries into the competition.

"I'm really happy with the way this all executed," he said. "Our goals with the Bomb Comp are similar to those of the Comps in the past, which is to demonstrate our capabilities to drop accurate bombs and, with the load comp, our ability to regenerate the airplanes quickly. Then, of course, we have the security forces competition as well, which demonstrates that we can secure our weapons and our airplanes. It accomplished all of our goals."

The 917th Wing's newest bomb squadron stepped up to the plate and came home with the trophies, once again proving the caliber of Airmen, training and experience the Reserves brings to the over fight and total force integration.









Bomb Comp Results:

2nd Bomb Wing: Best Load Crew Team-Nuclear

5th Bomb Wing: Best Crew Chief Team-Nuclear

7th Bomb Wing: Best Load Crew Team-Conventional, Best Crew Chief Team-Conventional, Best Bomb B-1, Giant Sword II Best Wing and Proud Shield II/Giant Sword II Best Wing

509th Bomb Wing: Best Security Forces Team and Best Bomb B-2

917th Wing: Best Bomb B-52 and Proud Shield II Best Bomb