Line Swine: 90th OG exercises skills Published March 3, 2008 By 1st Lt. Tim Secor 321st Missile Squadron F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- Several weeks ago, line crews from the 90th Operations Group were pitted against each other in a grueling competition. The annual competition, known as the Line Swine, consists of three different events designed to whittle the competition to four teams, one from each missile squadron and one from helicopter operations. Line crews, who regularly go on alert, battle each other at extreme versions of their day-to-day job. The Line Swine competition began Jan. 22 when line crews packed into the 90th OG pre-departure room to take a nearly impossible test. Second Lt. Cliff Peterson, 321st Missile Squadron, who was one of the 10 crew members to move on to round two, said the test was "even more difficult than some of my engineering courses." Crew members competed against each other to determine who knew more missile facts and procedures. The five line crews who beat the other competitors from round one were then subjected to a simulation in the missile procedures trainer. Crews struggled against the trainer in an extreme ride that left teams hoping they had made fewer mistakes than their peers. Competitors threw their books aside in an attempt to keep up with the seemingly never-ending onslaught of events ranging from fires to launch orders. First Lt. David Frander, 321st MS, described the ride as, "intense. My deputy was moving so fast he broke the trainer." The 37th Helicopter Squadron started their portion of the competition with an in-depth written test consisting of 25 questions covering flying operations and helicopter-specific regulation requirements. After the written test, the selected flight crews began the practical portion of their in-house competition. Flying a helicopter, the pilots, co-pilots and flight engineers were put to the test in a series of challenging activities: hovering and hoist operations followed by a tactical route flying operation. The route flown consisted of eight waypoints that crews had to reach in a certain amount of time and was a true test of their skills. One team from each squadron continued to round three, where they were joined by one of the squadron's top chefs and the top team from the helicopter squadron. Round three, a trivia competition, was held at the Trail's End Club. Capt. Jerry Hitchner, 90th Operations Support Squadron, quizzed the contestants about war anthems and Twentieth Air Force history along with several other categories while the teams' individual squadrons cheered them on. The line swine competition ended when Capt. Rob Ward and Lt. Nate Bishoping from the 319th Missile Squadron, were given the trophy for being the best line crew in the 90th OG.