3rd Marine Aircraft Wing

AL ASAD, Iraq -- Small-arms fire sprays from a four-story building; the Marines on the ground stop and take cover, returning fire upon the building. The forward air controller calls in air support. A few minutes later, an AV-8B Harrier flies over the building housing the insurgents releasing a 500-pound bomb. The building crumbles to rubble, courtesy of the ordnance Marines with Marine Attack Squadron 513.

The ordnance Marines with VMA-513, Marine Aircraft Group 16 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, are mainly responsible for all munitions going on and off of their aircraft.

"Our main responsibility is putting the bombs on the jets, so they can put the bombs on the targets," said Lance Cpl. Nicholas M. Aguilar, ordnance technician, VMA-513.

"The ordnance shop has the difficult job of ensuring that every Harrier that leaves our flight line has weapons and precision-guided bombs and missiles that will work to support those Marines on the ground," said Maj. Guy G. Berry, pilot, VMA-513. "They are also in charge of loading and checking the countermeasures that we carry to protect ourselves from surface-to-air missiles."

Part of ordnance's job is to perform constant inspections on all of the systems on the aircraft.

"We ensure that the pilots have something to drop," said Lance Cpl. Kyler Buckner, ordnance technician, VMA-513. "We do a lot of work to put the bombs on the aircraft and make sure that everything is working properly."

"We have weekly inspections," said Buckner, a native of Clarkston, Wash. "Every week we check the bombs and the guns on the aircraft. We look for anything that may cause a problem in the future. We also fix any minor problems we may find during the inspections. The inspections keep us pretty busy."

The ordnance shop has more than just the inspections to keep them busy, as they are also responsible for handling any discrepancies the pilots may have with anything ordnance related as well as readying each Harrier for flight.

"Before any of our birds leave, we have to ensure that they are carrying the proper munitions, and we have to arm them just before they take off," said Aguilar, a native of South Lake Tahoe, Calif. "We have to make sure that all safeties are off of the weapons. We also have to perform voltage checks on any Harrier carrying (AGM-65) Mavericks. We need to make sure there are no stray currents running through the aircraft; otherwise it could launch the missile accidentally."

According to Maj. John D. Rountree, pilot, VMA-513, ordnance Marines are responsible for making VMA-513 an effective unit.

"Ordnance is an important part of our unit because they are essential for everything that we train and execute as Marine attack pilots," said Rountree, a native of Falls Church, Va. "Our job is to neutralize the enemy before they can harm our Marines. That's why we exist, and we're proud of that role. Without our ordnance Marines, we would be nothing more than a manned surveillance aircraft. I am extremely proud of the ordnance professionals that I have the honor to serve with in VMA-513. I've been in Marine aviation for over 10 years and they are the finest Marines I know."