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Armory ensures 51st SFS can fight tonight

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Emerson Nuñez
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Mustang armorers are charged with maintaining Pacific Air Force's largest armory. They must maintain the armory up to the highest standards in order to ensure 51st Security Forces Squadron Airmen are equipped with properly maintained weapons to fight tonight if necessary.

"We are here to ensure all equipment is kept in good working order," said Senior Airman Scott Konken, 51st SFS armorer. "We make sure the mission is able to continue."

During operational readiness exercises, the armory is tasked with supporting 51st SFS members with all exercise weapons requirements, as well as continuing normal operations on Osan Air Base.

"The initial issue for the exercise is outrageous," said Senior Airman Gregory Pfeiler, 51st SFS armorer. "More than 200 extra weapons are issued. Once security forces is recalled we have to issue out all those extra weapons and ensure that all of the normal operation weapons are still accounted for."

When armorers are not busy arming security forces Airmen, they are kept busy keeping track of all other equipment stored in the armory and updating weapons rosters. During the exercise, they are tasked with keeping track of how many blanks are issued and making sure the ammo on hand is sufficient to meet exercise requirements.

The armory is open 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week and 100 percent accountability of all weapons and equipment is required at all times. Ammunition stored in the armory is also accounted for and inspected for discrepancies that could cause it to not fire properly.

The most challenging part of the ORE for armorers is when the weapons have to be turned in when the exercise ends.

"The last day is the worst," Konken said. "Keeping track of all the weapons can get hectic, everybody has to clean the weapons and there will be a handful of people that are not able to turn in their weapons on time because of all of the different sleeping schedules everybody has during the week."

Armorers are tasked with a vital mission in the Air Force, and it's a mission that these security forces members enjoy doing.

"I absolutely love my job here in the armory," said Pfeiler. "I love it because I get to see everyone in the squadron and I know what I do is important because we are the people maintaining the weapons on the base and helping security forces Airmen keep the mission going."