Maintainers battle for superiority Published July 15, 2016 By Airman 1st Class Abby Finkel 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England -- Airmen from the 748th and 48th Aircraft Maintenance Squadrons competed in a quarterly load crew competition at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, July 11. Two three-man crews battled against each other, and the clock, to correctly load three missiles onto an F-15 Strike Eagle aircraft. “It’s a competition to show how fast we can do it, while following all of our safety rules,” said Staff Sgt. Daniel Baur, 748th AMXS weapons load crew chief. The competing teams were comprised of Airmen who were carefully selected to best represent their squadrons. For Baur, this was the fourth time he’s been selected to compete and his third time competing as a load crew chief. “Every time you get nominated for this level of competition, it’s exciting,” Baur said. “It’s vindicating for all the hard work we do all the time.” The competition allows supervisors to both evaluate how well their crews perform under pressure and also allows them to see how they measure up to other squadrons. “It’s bragging rights. Each aircraft maintenance unit wants to know who’s the best of the best,” said Tech. Sgt. John Batykefer, 48th Maintenance Group loading standardization crew member. The winner will be announced in the coming weeks and will be awarded the Load Crew of the Quarter trophy.