CAPEX tests ammo ammunition ability

by Airman 1st Class Malia Jenkins
18th Wing Public Affairs

3/6/2013 - KADENA AIR BASE, Japan  -- The 18th Munitions Squadron participated in a week-long Pacific Air Forces' Combat Ammunition Production Exercise March 4-8.

Tech. Sgt Scott Layne, 18th MUNS NCO in charge of the commander support staff, said because Kadena is an air-to-air fighter aircraft base and does not build bombs, the exercise was conducted to test the squadron's combat capabilities to produce munitions in a wartime scenario.

The exercise gave munitions squadron personnel an opportunity to practice delivering ammunition to aircraft and building ammunition to a simulated wartime requirement flying schedule.

"Validating a munitions employment plan is also important if, during a wartime effort, reinforcements were to come to Kadena," 1st Lt. Richard Danaher, 18th MUNS CAPEX project officer, said in a previous story. "CAPEX allows ammunition personnel to receive training necessary to provide inbound force aircraft with the ammunition they need to carry out a mission."

Other air-to-air PACAF and Air Combat Command bases also participated in the exercise here. The bases were Anderson Air Force Base, Guam; Beale AFB, Calif.; Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; Kunsan Air Base, South Korea; Langley AFB, Va.; Misawa AB, Japan; Mountain Home AFB, Idaho; and Osan AB, South Korea.

Layne said the various units came to Kadena and participated in the exercise because building air-to-ground munitions is their specialty. Although there are members from various bases in this exercise, the crews have gelled together and pushed out quality products, he said.

"This exercise helped Airmen walk away with a better understanding and greater appreciation of what it takes to initiate and sustain combat efforts in the Pacific," Layne said.