Editor's Note: This story was originally published June 5. It has been updated with information on the winners of the competition.
The Warthogs are baring their tusks.
A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, pilots and crews from across the Air Force met at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, June 2-4 to take part in this year’s Hawgsmoke training and competition.
The event, which is held every other year, — it happens every other year — featured 13 teams flying 48 A-10s.
"This year what we wanted to focus on was a precision engagement and the ability for a four-ship of A-10s to mass fire in a short amount of time," said Lt. Col. Brett Waring, the man overseeing the competition and an A-10 pilot himself with 2,600 flight hours.
And the competition part will also focus on conventional weapons delivery to see just which team is the most accurate.
"That's going to be your high-altitude dive bombs, low-altitude delivery, long-range and low-angle strafe," Waring said. "That's pretty common for Hawgsmoke because it's the bread and butter of your A-10 tactical events."
Capt. Casey Osborne, a spokesman with the 355th Fighter Wing at Davis-Monthan, said the event is a chance for the Warthog operators to meet face to face and learn from each other.
"The A-10s are actively engaged in operations around the world right now, and this is really an opportunity for the best A-10 pilots in the Air Force to get together and share those best practices," he said.
In 2014, the 47th Fighter Squadron out of Davis-Monthan won the event and is trying to defend its crown this year. The event has brought together both active component and Air National Guard squads from Missouri, Michigan, Indiana, Maryland, Georgia, Arizona and Osan Air Base in South Korea.
Hawgsmoke was inspired by the Air Force's Gunsmoke gunnery competition that was held until 1995. Col. Cliff Latta of the Michigan Air National Guard's 172nd Fighter Squadron is credited with starting the first Hawgsmoke competition in 2000. It's been held every other year since then, except in 2004 when bad weather lead to the cancellation of the event and became known as "Hawgwash."
One part of the competition this year involved giving A-10 teams 10 minutes to see how many of 60 targets they could hit.
"Some were precise clean coordinates and some were just areas we knew where vehicles were," Waring said, adding that it was on the teams to pick their strategy.
"They could choose their weapons, they could choose their tactics. They just had to prove they could take off with the load they wanted," he added.
But it's not just about the events, it's also about bringing the airmen together.
"We had a gentleman here, he had last flown the A-10 in 1990," Waring said. "We were able to put him in the cockpit [of a simulator] and show him the C model. It's pretty cool to see the history and the heritage come together."
The Warthog has been flown actively by the Air Force since 1975, which means the craft itself has built up a lot of history.
"One of the formations was led by a Desert Storm veteran, and some of the formations had some lieutenants in it," Waring said. "To see all of that come together and execute together was very, very impressive."
"While we pay a lot of homage to the warhorse we fly, the critical piece of that is the A-10 pilots and the focus and the dedication they bring to the mission," he continued. "They're going to go out and they're going to do it with the most advanced weapons we have and the simplest tactics forged over 40 years."
Part of that history is also remembering the fallen. Hawgsmoke begins with a ceremony honoring all former Warthog pilots.
"We read the names of every A-10 pilot that's died, whether that's from combat losses, training accidents, old age," Waring said, noting that the competition's four primary trophies are also named for former pilots.
The venerable A-10 itself might not be around much longer. Air Force leadership has made repeated attempts to retire the aircraft, and say that its close-air support role can be performed by newer aircraft like the F-35 Lightning II.
But Waring said that any discussions about the lifespan of the A-10 won't affect the Hawgsmoke pilots. They'll continue to do their best until the Air Force orders them to stop flying.
"The same way they approach this event is the way they will approach every tasking that is given to us until the day the very last A-10 rolls into the Boneyard," he said. "Everybody that looks at us knows there will be no gradual tapering off of capability from these pilots. They will give 100 percent from themselves and their warhorse until they are not allowed to do it."
Below are the winners of the competition, according to the 355th Fighter Wing at Davis-Monthan:
45-Degree High Altitude Dive Bomb
1. Capt. David "Gnome" Knighton, 47th Fighter Squadron
2. 1st Lt. Christopher "Styflr" Shelley, 76th FS
3. Maj. John "Atlas" Meyers, 25th FS
30-Degree Dive Bomb, HARS
(Heading and Altitude Reference System; degraded delivery)
1. Capt. Tyler "Mully" Shipman, 47th FS
2. Maj. Jeff "Z" Sliwoski, Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Test Center (AATC)
3. Capt. Ryan "Slinga" Yingling, 104th FS
10-Degree Low Angle, High Drag Pop-up
1. Capt. Simon "Honey-Badger" Long, 47th FS
2. Lt. Col. Alan "Lick" McCracken, AATC
3. Capt. David "Gnome" Knighton, 47th FS
Long-Range Strafe
1. Lt. Col. John "Karl" Marks, 303rd FS
2. Capt. Ben Best, 107th FS
Low Angle Strafe
1. Capt. Josh "Tono" Woodard, 354th FS
2. Capt Max "Eddie" Sery, 25th FS
Top Conventional Team
(Maj. Jeff "Burger" Watterberg Trophy)
47th FS, Davis-Monthan AFB
Top Tactical Team
(Capt Steve "Syph" Phillis Trophy)
25th FS, Osan AB, Republic of Korea
Top Overall Pilot
(Lt. Col. Robert "Muck" Brown Trophy)
Capt. David "Gnome" Knighton, 47th FS
Top Overall Team
(Col. Al "Mud" Moore Trophy)
47th FS, Davis-Monthan AFB (for the second time in a row)
