Resurrection of Strategic Air Command's competition faces off the best bomb crews of the Mighty 8th Air Force

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephen Linch
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  The former Strategic Air Command museum maintained, "The Cold War didn't just end ... it was won."

Over SAC's forty-year life, more than a million men and women served in it as the unsung heroes of the Cold War and maintained the motto, "Peace is Our Profession."

These men and women claimed to be the best at what they did, having enormous conventional and nuclear capabilities and showing such restraint in using it.

But some wondered who the best of the best was? And with that the SAC Weapons Loading Competition, also known as "Giant Sword" started in 1958 where it was first held at MacDill AFB, Fla.

June 1, 1992, with the Berlin Wall down, the Warsaw Pact a memory and the Soviet Union nonexistent, SAC and its loading competition, Giant Sword took their place in the history books of the Cold War.

As if coming back from the grave Giant Sword came to Whiteman, in the form of its successor Giant Sword II, with 8th Air Force inspection team showing up Jan. 21.

"The event is a resurrection of the highly competitive SAC bomb loading competition across all the bomb wings in the Air Force," said 1st Lt. Jason Christopher, 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and wing point of contact for Giant Sword II. "This is the first event of its kind since the days of SAC, and our crew chiefs and weapons loaders will be representing the 509th Bomb Wing."

Whiteman is the first base to rise to the gauntlet of Giant Sword II, with the 8th Air Force inspection teams visiting the 7th Bomb Wing, Dyess AFB, Texas, 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth AFB, S.D., 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale AFB, La. and 5th Bomb Wing Minot AFB, N.D. , in the upcoming months.

"In the weapons community we have a lot of heritage and comradery," said Senior Airman Cody McConnell, 509th Munitions Squadron, a weapons load evaluator. "(This competition puts our) best crew with the best stats against other bomber base's crews."

Just like its predecessor, Giant Sword II tests includes a pre-flight inspection, weapon load, security portion,

The competition started with a uniform and toolbox inspection following a series of knowledge test, before proceeding to a preflight inspection of the B-2 named the Spirit of Kitty Hawk Jan. 21.

It continued with a weapons load crew completing a conventional munitions load and simulated nuclear munitions that demonstrated nuclear surety procedures Jan. 22.

"It's all teamwork," said Senior Airman Eleasha Holmes, 509th AMXS, a member of the four person weapons load crew that participated in Giant Sword II regarding the bomb loads. "There are four of us that work together; we all need each other to make things go smoothly."

The 8th Air Force bomb competition will culminate with a symposium at Barksdale AFB, La.
in March, where the winners will be announced and awarded.

"We did well," said Staff Sgt. Jason Lease, 509th AMXS and team chief of the participating weapons load crew. "I hope we win."