New weapons facility to enhance deterrence mission

by Airman 1st Class Benjamin Raughton
2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs

9/25/2014 - BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the grand opening of a new building on Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, Sept. 19. After more than eight years of planning and construction, the building is ready for use.

"The 2nd Bomb Wing will continue to provide nuclear deterrence and conventional firepower anytime, anywhere and this facility will ensure the legacy of excellence continues," Col. Kristin Goodwin, 2nd BW commander, said prior to the ribbon-cutting. "Designed with the mission in mind, this building is a true force enabler."

The facility marks a new start for Barksdale's weapons load crews and adds another degree of versatility to the 2nd Maintenance Group by streamlining operations, which currently can be punctuated by inclement weather. A lightning-within-five warning creates a pause in operations, and the new facility mitigates this inconsistency.

"In addition to weapons loading, the [hangar] will provide a covered area for us to store our training munitions and the MHU-196 trailers we use to load munitions that are currently on the flightline," said Tech. Sgt. Erin Bernik, 2nd MXG lead crew member. "The facility will provide greater storage area, keep our items in better shape and prevent us from losing any training time because our munitions will be serviceable."

Working in the elements increases stress and results in loss of training time because of inclement weather, but having a covered facility will allow load crews to focus exclusively on the mission.

"We lose a lot of training time because we have to wrap up everything that we're doing, come inside, and go back out in ten minutes or so when the [weather] warning is lifted," said Staff Sgt. Justin Phillips, 2nd MXG weapons load crew team chief. "During a monthly load, losing one night of work means you have to schedule another night, even if you just lose a couple of hours."

Additionally, housing the load equipment in the hangar will save on maintenance costs as one MHU-196 costs nearly $450,000. The building will also provide a central meeting location for crews to train.

"This facility is going to save us a lot of time," said Senior Airman Eva Hintz, 2nd MXG lead crew member, who will train her fellow Airmen in the new facility. "The crews can meet us here and everything is much more easily accessible. We can also save a lot of aircrew ground equipment."

More than 20 active duty Airmen and 25 reservists use the facility, providing total force support to the wing.

"We put the warheads on foreheads and the faster we can train our crews, the faster we can directly support the 2nd BW mission," Bernik said.