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

How does one defend one's self if they're not??
Ron Bogard
U.S.Army ret

Security Police, now Security Forces are the protectors of Air Bases and Aircraft on each base. In my time in Security Police (1968 - 1972) we had to qualify on the M16, M1, 38 caliber pistol and the M12 Riot gun. I was assigned Law Enforcement duties for the 4 years and only was ever assigned the .38 Combat Masterpiece pistol. I believe we only requalified on an annual basis. We did have augmentees that were pulled from other career fields and they would have to qualify with the M16 or pistol as well. I retrained into the Aircraft Loadmaster career field and was assigned to C-130 aircraft. I was required to carry a snubnose 38 caliber pistol in a shoulder holster under my flight suit. Carried 3 bean bag rounds and 3 hollowpoint rounds. Only had 40 foot long cargo deck to defend. After 5 years on flight status and was reassigned to Recruiter duty for the last 15 years of my career and we no longer were required to qualify on any weapons. I agree with some of the other comments I read on this link, not everyone in uniform is prepared or capable of handling a weapon never mind being able to use one to put down an adversary.

I agree that Airmen need to be proficient with the weapon that they could be issued in an emergency.

When I was in basic training we had handgun and M16 training, but it wasn't comprehensive nor did we carry it further after basic. I'm proud to say I got my ribbon for accuracy, but I'd shot guns before. If a skirmish did break out you wouldn't really want to rely on AF personnel to take up arms. Many do know their way around guns though so if they had to they would.

Cause the airforce has adopted more of a quasi corporate military culture.

The Air Force may never have been intended as a ground force, but as we face a dual-threat of insurgency/terror and high tech warfare, the front lines are becoming blurred. In Iraq we ran convoys, bases were attacked and a threat was always there. We don't have to be trained to fight as the Army or Marines, but we should be proficient in using our weapons. Should we wait until a 3 or 4 or 5 man terrorist squad infiltrates one of our bases and runs around shooting defenseless Airman? It will be too late to conduct training then.

Well Sergeant, I commend your enthusiasm, but I think you have a few points wrong. And I'm speaking to you as a former Security Forces member, more specifically as what used to be called a security specialist.

I don't disagree with you about the need for weapons skills. However, there are reasons....

First, there are those career fields in the Air Force -- mostly medical -- where carrying a weapon violates the Geneva Convention and probably an assortment of other treaties.

Second, in my era of the Air Force, individuals in basic training usually went through familiarization, a dry fire simulation and then "wet fire" where they could have earned the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon while still in basic training. Did you know that unlike other services, the Air Force SMEMR is permanent? Then, as I remember, you returned to the range at annually to requalify on the AR-15/M-16 or in my case the M-15 or S&W Combat Masterpiece. If you qualified as expert, you didn't have to return for 24 months unless you chose to.

The number of times I personally returned to the range over the course of my career seemed a lot more frequent because I was also qualified on the M-60 and was once was assigned to an Alpha unit of the original Rapid Deployment Force. The tempo in which I returned to the range, or did my time in a chemical warfare ensemble, seemed more to deal with worldwide deployment status than anything else. The airmen beside me on the range also seemed to represent a variety of support AFSCs with the same deployment status and were not just battlefield airmen.

Therefore, the issue may not be the lack of training. In my era, you could go to Combat Arms and sign up for requalification and be issued a rounds and a weapon to fire. The last time I qualified was just before Desert Storm and I was serving a special duty tour as a recruiter. That last weapon that I fired in service was the M-9, which is the only weapon I chose to pursue post Air Force.

I agree with You,they should be taught to defend themselves and U.S.grounds and equipment.

I fully agree. Every Marine, Navy and Army personnel must qualify with their assigned weapon and more in most instances. All military personnel are supposed to be able to defend their post and our Country.

Yes, It could happen that an airman gets himself in a bind were using a rifle would be needed. Having said that, Airmen that have a highrisk of being behind enemy lines are almost always sent through SERE and the likes.
Now, lets say an enemy pulls some sort of Blitzkreig and encounters an AF base... well, almost every airman would be either trying to operate the base and try to get air superiority ASAP and admins could very well be trying to destroy every single piece of intel. The AF is not a ground force.
Although I agree maybe they should get some very basic rifle handling but nor much more than maybe one class.
the blietzkreig is a once in a 1000 scenario, and I bet you if a scenario like that were to be even likely, Army units would be placed protecting the AF bases.
Hell, In a worst scenario, I bet you they'd try to get every plane on the air, destroy what it cant be get running, and evac everyone after intel is destroyed.