Why don't all members of the Air Force have to be fully qualified to be a rifleman in case of hostile events?

That's a damn good question, Staff. I agree with your assessment, but I'd go even further. This nation was built by warriors from conquest and has required constant vigilance to maintain. While we serve, the rest of the country gradually becomes more gentrified and less able to assist in its own defense should the need arise, which at some point it will. It's foolhardy to believe otherwise. Our gun ownership is not a privilege, it is a birthright for a reason and as such, Being familiar with basic small arms safety should be a matter of course for all able Americans. That such is not the case with some members of the Air Force is unacceptable. Especially given that they are just a generation removed from when they were still Army

It makes no sense. You would think there would be a great outcry from the active duty members of the USAF. I sure as Hell would want to know how to fight, just in case my base was over run. That is EXACTLY why the USMC trains every Marine to be a rifleman first, no matter what their MOS is. The Marine band once defended the nations capital during the war of 1812 because they were the only federal troops available.

I was aircraft maintenance most of my career but I was sent over to the SF squadron because they were undermanned and I can say that I think all of the USAF needs to take this type of training up a notch. It didn't seem to be that hard for non-SF airmen to do some OJT with the SF NCOs and be an effective "rifleman". This was before the fun in Afghanistan. So what if a c-130 full of maintenance & supply personnel has an IFE and lands in the middle of nowhere Afghanistan. There is no Army or Marine unit there to protect them. These airmen will need to defend themselves. If is foolish to expect these airmen to know how to do any kind of integrated defense when all the training they get is a trip to the M16 range once a year. The USAF needs to get rid of things like transgender sensitivity training and replace it with squad-level perimeter defense.

When I came in everyone learned in Basic then had to renew their quals at least annually. Even then you still had those kinds of issues, although not quite as much. I think the more you have ready to defend the better off you are. But from what I've seen as other than SF there are some who just don't have the ability and I wouldn't want around me with a firearm if something happened.

I've always been told the reason we don't now is budget cuts. Since Airmen, realistically speaking, are almost never in a spot where a weapon would be required it was viewed as an easy budget saving measure. Fewer weapons needed, fewer instructors needed, lot less ammo needed.

Personally I agree that if you're in the military you should maintain proficiency with your expected firearms/weapons. With the lack of training it's one reason I bought my own AR-15 style rifle, and plan to get a 92FS since I've been qual'd on the M9. It's also why I was allowed to PCS into California with it when otherwise they'd prefer to lock you up for crossing the state border with one. But from an overall strategic viewpoint, in the current environment, I can't knock leadership for the decisions overall. I'd prefer it to be otherwise, but preferences aren't always feasible.

In 1965 the 12th TFW deployed to Vietnam. As a cargo courier I carried an M16 and 60 rounds of ammo in three 20 round magazines. At this time I was an AGE mechanic. When we arrived in country we had 13 Security Policemen. As a result, those of us on the aircraft maintenance side became part of a fire team. We eventually go a ROK battalion as our outer perimeter.

Seabees have to qualify annually, but there are some I wouldn't give a pointy stick to, much less a weapon.

What I understand, air national guard any way only us to qualify on the M-16 a few months before they or if they deploy.. not sure for active duty.

Most Airman will never see combat. If a base is attacked the non-combat troops are usually removed, in Germany they issued a card with a serial number of an M16 and you were told to report to the amory for the weapon, then make your way to the French coast and a specific port for a ride home. The base personnel were not expected to fight that was left up to the Security Forces (Cops). In Thailand the base was attacked and all personnel where recalled from off base. About half were so drunk they had trouble even walking, yet they were issued a weapon and told to get ready. Total ClusterF**k. Thank God the Amory had the sense not to issue ammo. The Air Force fights with airplanes not groumd troops normally. I had to qualify annually with a .45acp because I was on flying status. Never saw an M9 until after I retired.

USAF '76-'80. We were taught to use the M-16, but only briefly. Those with a rural background got it quicker than those from an urban life. I didn't really care if I qualified, since the "aim" in Basic was to get us used to following orders and looking like we were in the military. The reason for the stress on familiarity with arms? Air Force units had been overrun before during Vietnam, and this was a fairly fresh memory with our instructors.

Think about where the original air arm of the military was stationed during WWII, and even WWI....always at a safe distance behind the front lines because they could get to the fight under their own power with sabotage really the only threat. Thus, minimal firearms training was needed except for whatever security personnel were necessary to have around. Even in the Pacific most aircraft were far from the battle except those stationed on an aircraft carrier when the battle was brought to them. Coming through Viet Nam the face of war began to change as guerilla warfare became almost the norm and air bases were under constant threat from the ground. Unfortunately there was no lesson learned and new tactics/strategy put into place. This was partly because we were still the baddest dog on the block and could attack anywhere in the world from bases within the good ol' US of A. Base defense needs to and should change as now even bases within our borders are subject to hit and run attacks and everyone needs to know not only how to pull the trigger, but also how to get more bullets loaded to keep fighting. I always felt vulnerable except during those times when I was stationed on an Army location and we had to do things their way.