by Senior Airman Brittany Y. Auld
Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs

5/20/2014 - MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D.  -- Tundra Thunder is a five-day internal 5th Munitions Squadron training exercise designed to evaluate and validate the 5th MUNS warfighting capabilities in support of conventional operations.

The entire squadron, which is approximately 122 ammo personnel, participated in this event and built roughly 830 conventional munitions and 324 ALA-17 flare countermeasures.

"It exercises every facet of combat munitions production," said Master Sgt. Gregory Hammel, 5th MUNS flight chief. "Break-out, assembly, delivery, control and accountability, in as realistic as environment a can be established at home station."

The exercise is intended to flex the 5th MUN's conventional munitions generation capabilities to support B-52H Stratofortress operations, either deployed or at home station.

For one 5th MUNS conventional crew chief, the purpose of the exercise is to show their war-fighting capability if called upon and to show how quickly they can assemble and arm an aircraft.

Senior Airman Miquel Aquino, a San Jose, California native, also uses the exercise to familiarize himself with the environment, the work atmosphere, and the certain components, builds, and processes one must undergo.

This is Aquino's first time participating in the semi-annual exercise.

"I hope to become a better ammo troop from this exercise," said Aquino. "By participating in the exercise, I have obtained more knowledge on certain builds and munition items that we do not see day-to-day."

Aquino also said he has become more efficient on daily tasks and has seen munitions built on a larger scale.

Senior Airman Luke Fallis, 5th MUNS munitions journeyman, and a native of Rush, New York, said he hoped to learn more about his fellow Airmen's strengths so they can become a more effective team when they are needed.

Fallis' job as a munitions journeyman is to test, inspect and maintain the Air Force's munitions stockpile, from bullets to bombs.

"Tundra Thunder gives us the opportunity to work on munitions that we normally wouldn't use during the year," said Fallis.

This exercise ensures ammo Airmen are qualified to do their job. The more Airmen that are qualified, the more they increase our war fighting capability, the quality of troops, and the efficiency of their work force, said Aquino.

"We put the 'force' in Air Force because without ammo, the planes out on the flight line would just be that, planes," Aquino said.