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

If your talking about being backed to defending our own soil, I'd want my grandmother to be fully qualified. Our country is demanding we give up our weapons and Grandma is pretty good with an iron skillet! I don't think our safety in the climate of the world today should be based on money. Cross training is possible even though I certainly couldn't fly a plane.

I was prior army when I joined the af. first time had to gualify with the m-16 the instructor saw me break down the m-16 he asked if I knew how to put together again. I did and qualified expert.

Airforce SF is not the same as Army or Marine infantry. You are basically an MP.

They should learn how to use any weapon all the military is using.

When I was in both active and reserve Air Force, we were required to qualify with live ammo on riffle range with m-16. Then after finished on range, we had to clean our weapon to the satisfaction of the armory instructor. Just as you would in real world. I can't speak for last few years but have heard when AF people help other get stuff mowed, they were armed. Also was in Coast Guard Reserve for six years. We had to qualify and had to use our pistols and ammunition, no government support.

In Nam, many AF troops were killed with fully loaded m16s in thier hand. Not knowing how to use them,,,,,

SSgt Garrett Christ Did you happen to notice that Air Force Bases are usually located to the rear of most battle areas? I was active duty USAF for 21 years and served 3 tours in Vietnam. The first weapon I qualified on was the M1 carbine followed by the M16,M60,50 cal,M79 and the 38 cal revolver. I was by AFSC a special purpose vehicle mechanic but I was also an Air Base Ground Defense augmentee. Now getting back to my lead statement our job as USAF is to fly and fight we do this by ensuring our fighters,bombers,cargo birds are ready and able to provide airborne destruction of enemy facilities, CAS for our fellow Army,Marines and SOF. Research what we did during the battle at Khe Sahn one of our C130 came back to base so shot up by the VC you could literally step through the battle damage but the men on the ground needed their supplies (food and Ammunition). I was at Tuy Hoa AB RVN doing my part by making sure crash/fire trucks were ready if a hot bird came back and the crew needed fire protection. My last active duty assignment in a mobile TACS Wing/Unit. Since we were self contained and ground or air deployable we received the training and range time necessary to accomplish our mission because we did not always set up on a fixed base. My active duty years were 1965-1986. BTW my son and his wife were USAF SF one was LE and the other SF. I have no idea what you were expecting when you joined the USAF but our job has always been FLY and FIGHT not go outside the wire and engage the enemy. Have you ever thought about cross training into one of the AFSC(s) for para rescue or maybe become a member of a CCT (Combat Control Team)? You can always join the Army,Marines or try for the SEALS at the end of your current enlistment.

When I joined the Air Force in 1979 they still had weapons training in basic for just two days, dry fire day and wet fire on the M-16. I didn't have to qualify again until I went on overseas duty. But I did qualify expert each time. and I'm still a great shot to this day.

That might be true NOW but in 1968 I was trained and fired the AR-15 to qualify alone with the colt 45...When I was ordered to VN I first went to Northern Cally for more weapons training ...My MOS was POL...I do agree that each man should be a rifleman first if your in the military !!!

Maybe my experience was different because I was assigned to a Special Ops base but, every single person on the base, regardless of job title, had to be M16 qualified. This included complete field strip, cleaning and reassembly and to qualify for expert, we were given 29 rounds and had to score a minimum of 250 out of a possible 290 @ 1000 yards from various positions including, prone, kneeling, over barricade, strong side barricade and standing.
The only year I didn't qualify for expert was, the year they used 22LR conversions to save money I suppose. Those things were junk and would jam every other round. Also, due to the limitations of the 22LR cartridge, we had miniature silhouette targets (about 7 or 8 inches tall if I remember correctly and only about 3 inches wide) placed 100 yards away.