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Fowl play: 188th's Warthogs engage in final 'turkey shoot' weapons drop competition

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman John Hillier
  • 188th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
FORT SMITH, Ark. --  In military parlance, it's called a "Turkey Shoot," a situation in which one side is so outgunned, it's considered an unfair fight. For 11 pilots from the 188th Fighter Wing, it was one last chance to drop live ordinance at Razorback Range.

In what is likely the final such event at the 188th, pilots held a friendly competition over three days, consisting of dropping laser guided bombs, 2.75 inch rockets, and strafing runs with their 30mm GAU-8/A Gatling gun at the range's training targets.

Although the A-10C Thunderbolt II is known for its deadly accuracy on the battlefield, in this competition the pilots had only their skill to rely upon. Pilots were scored in several different aspects involving accuracy, teamwork and timeliness.

"The computers were taken out of the loop so it went back to bombing the way it used to be without assistance," said Maj. Doug Davis, Detachment 1 commander. "So a lot of the manual bombs were used to let the pilot have the ability to make the bomb hit the right target."

The shoot doubled as a training exercise for the 188th, allowing pilots to keep their skills sharp should they be needed in the line of duty.

"It builds confidence in the weapon system, the weapons themselves, and it also builds the pilots confidence," Davis said. "Actually coming out and employing the weapons and seeing how well they do here in a controlled environment before you get to such a dynamic environment overseas, is beneficial."

With the 188th's A-10s leaving Fort Smith in 2014, this was the last turkey shoot for the Flying Razorbacks using the "Warthogs."

"It is a little bittersweet knowing that this is probably the last one that's going to take place here on Razorback Range with the 188th Fighter Wing," Davis said. "However, all good things unfortunately come to an end at times, and we're looking forward to the next chapter for the 188th Fighter Wing."

Razorback Range is still used for a variety of training missions among the National Guard and active-duty military forces, and those missions will continue despite the absence of the A-10s.

"This isn't the last time that Fort Smith is going to use the range," Davis said. "We'll use the range up until the airplanes depart, until the Air Force takes them away, but this is probably the last turkey shoot that we'll do."



Fowl play: 188th's Warthogs engage in final 'turkey shoot' weapons drop competition

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman John Hillier
  • 188th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
FORT SMITH, Ark. --  In military parlance, it's called a "Turkey Shoot," a situation in which one side is so outgunned, it's considered an unfair fight. For 11 pilots from the 188th Fighter Wing, it was one last chance to drop live ordinance at Razorback Range.

In what is likely the final such event at the 188th, pilots held a friendly competition over three days, consisting of dropping laser guided bombs, 2.75 inch rockets, and strafing runs with their 30mm GAU-8/A Gatling gun at the range's training targets.

Although the A-10C Thunderbolt II is known for its deadly accuracy on the battlefield, in this competition the pilots had only their skill to rely upon. Pilots were scored in several different aspects involving accuracy, teamwork and timeliness.

"The computers were taken out of the loop so it went back to bombing the way it used to be without assistance," said Maj. Doug Davis, Detachment 1 commander. "So a lot of the manual bombs were used to let the pilot have the ability to make the bomb hit the right target."

The shoot doubled as a training exercise for the 188th, allowing pilots to keep their skills sharp should they be needed in the line of duty.

"It builds confidence in the weapon system, the weapons themselves, and it also builds the pilots confidence," Davis said. "Actually coming out and employing the weapons and seeing how well they do here in a controlled environment before you get to such a dynamic environment overseas, is beneficial."

With the 188th's A-10s leaving Fort Smith in 2014, this was the last turkey shoot for the Flying Razorbacks using the "Warthogs."

"It is a little bittersweet knowing that this is probably the last one that's going to take place here on Razorback Range with the 188th Fighter Wing," Davis said. "However, all good things unfortunately come to an end at times, and we're looking forward to the next chapter for the 188th Fighter Wing."

Razorback Range is still used for a variety of training missions among the National Guard and active-duty military forces, and those missions will continue despite the absence of the A-10s.

"This isn't the last time that Fort Smith is going to use the range," Davis said. "We'll use the range up until the airplanes depart, until the Air Force takes them away, but this is probably the last turkey shoot that we'll do."