ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE BASE TINDAL, Australia -- For the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 aviation ordnancemen deployed to Exercise Southern Frontier 2007, life on duty is all about being safe.
"There aren't any small incidents in ordnance," said Cpl. Douglas Richardson, quality assurance safety officer and native of Longview, Texas. "That's why we take extensive measures and keep an eye on our procedures all the time to ensure 100 percent safety."
Building a group dedicated to a single purpose – safely building bombs - usually isn't an easy task. No one knows this better than the group's leader, Gunnery Sgt. Bryan Fuller.
"This group is one of the best I've had," said Fuller, a former drill instructor whose praise isn't taken lightly by his Marines. "They know what they're doing, and they have an eagerness to learn what they don't. Most of all, they're a really well-disciplined group."
Being well-disciplined is something Fuller can appreciate and in the bomb-making business it's a nearly essential attribute, he said.
"Safety is our first concern," said Fuller, a native of Wichita, Kansas. "When we're off-duty, on liberty, we love to joke around, but on the job isn't the place for it."
Assisting Fuller in the oversight of bomb-building operation are his noncommissioned officers, who, alongside Fuller, fill the role of quality assurance safety officers.
"I have good Marines and solid NCOs," Fuller said.
The most difficult part of the ordnancemen's job is the logistics required to get the materials to the bomb preparation area, according to Fuller. Once the parts - fins, bombs and boosters - have been inspected for damage, assembly can begin.
"It takes about five minutes to build a bomb," said Fuller, whose group is building approximately 400 for Exercise Southern Frontier. "Some of the guided bombs take considerably more time because there are a lot more components."
The group is one of very few self-sufficient organizations that support the squadron.
"It's not your typical 0800-to-1600 job," said Richardson, whose knowledge and leadership abilities enable him to hold a billet usually filled by sergeants and staff noncommissioned officers. "We're here until the work gets done."
Among the time-consuming aspects of the job is the element of guiding Marines new to aviation ordnance through the bomb-building process.
"Along with safety, we're concerned about making a quality product," said Sgt. Richard Burgo, quality assurance safety officer and native of Riverside, Calif. "To do that, we have to make sure (the younger Marines) not only know what they're doing but understand why they're doing it."
In the end, the challenges faced mold a group of Marines bonded by their shared experiences.
"The Marines is a brotherhood," said Richardson. "Ordnance is an even tighter, closer group."
The ordnancemen usually only go through the motions of their craft when not deployed; here they're enjoying actually doing it.
"We live for deployments," said Richardson.
The group is relishing the opportunity to provide the squadron with an essential service, but while doing so, they remember bomb-building is a step-by-step, safety-oriented process. Wavering from that process is a recipe for disaster, according to Fuller.
"The squadron is relying on us to provide them with the ordnance so they have the opportunity to train. If we don't do our job well, they don't have that opportunity," said Fuller. "We try to be as efficient as possible, but we have to keep safety on our minds at all times."