33d Fighter Wing competes in Turkey Shoot Published Sept. 18, 2007 By 2nd Lt. Jim Lambertsen 33d Fighter Wing Public Affairs EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The 58th Fighter Squadron and the 58th Aircraft Maintenance Unit were declared the winners of the "Turkey Shoot" the 33d Fighter Wing held on Sept. 11-13. "The Turkey Shoot is a friendly competition between the 58th and the 60th fighter squadrons and aircraft maintenance units to determine who is the best at flying and fixing our jets" said Capt. Ryan Owen, 33d OSS Weapons. The competition focused both on the operational flying and maintenance aspects of the 33d FW's F-15C Eagles. The flying squadrons were tasked with different missions, including a defensive counter-air and offensive counter-air fighting against the 64th Aggressor Squadron, which was visiting from Nellis AFB to participate in dissimilar air combat training Sept. 11-20. Capt. Sam Joplin of the 60th FS led a four-ship of F-15s in a DCA mission Sept. 11. "For DCA, it is our job to put ourselves between the target we're defending and the attacking force," said Captain Joplin. "For our DCA mission, we were tasked to provide air cover over a point for a time of 25 minutes against an attacking force of six F-16 Aggressor aircraft emulating Russian MiGs." The success of the mission was gauged by various factors ranging from the defense of the target to number of kills on enemy aircraft. The 58th FS then flew a similar mission, and the squadron with the higher score was deemed the winner. In the maintenance arena, the two AMUs competed in a weapons load competition, an avionics reliability systems check, a weapons reliability systems check and crew chief aircraft launch procedures. "Aircraft systems are evaluated head-to-head and each faulty system counts as points against the AMU," said Senior Master Sgt. Craig Brandenburg, Assistant NCOIC of the 60th AMU. "A competition like the Turkey Shoot ultimately improves maintenance performance, and when you do so better than the other squadron, it's all about bragging rights." The Turkey Shoot was not held in 2006, but the wing is looking to hold the competition annually in the future.