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

There are enough positive and compelling responses to your condescending question, so I’ll just state this: we joined for intelligence warfare -not to be Marines or Army infantry in hand-to-hand combat. The goal of the branches is completely different. Maybe take some time to appreciate the differences between the skillsets of all the branches instead of trying to make them all into your own.

The Air Force began it's service as The Army Air Corps...If you wanted to fly you joined the Army then became a pilot or gunner or what have you. At that point in time it was Army basic training then assignment just like current Army training. The Marine Corps was once an appendage of the Navy. The branches have since separated for purposes of more specified training and easement of command. The Government felt it was best to send orders out more directly to the Air, Sea and ground units if they were split.

As a comm troop, I need you to reset the base boundary router and reset the secure AFNET tunnel while not dropping any communications links for the base secure links.

Your expectation for comm troops to be infantry is laughable. Different jobs require different intelligence and mental requirements.

All Air Force members are sent through a basic ground defense course and taught basic ground tactics. The Security Forces are the more advanced trained war fighters and trained to Defend the Air Base.

Having spent some time working with sister service members and in joint environments, I recognize that not all understand how we all fit together in this thing for "war" on a global perspective. BLUF: the Army is a ground/land fighting force. Soldiers are primarily Infantry first and MOS second. The AF is just what our name implies, we own the sky. Airmen are career field (AFSC) focused first. Defense training is secondary. That's why the most hated statement from an Airmen is "that's not my job." An Army unit will put a soldier where he's needed for the moment. The AF invests good money in AFSC training for Airmen so we only send the career fields that are needed, no extras, no floaters. There is a college degree program for every AFSC in the Air Force. Arming. Because the AF is specific on who does what, we are not trained for patrols. We are trained to defend our space, if you will. We have a professional Security Force that defends the base and will go out on patrols (looking for work

I agree whole heartedly with you on this. Even in the Army, some only get very little training if any. When I first joined an Army Reserve Band, some asked me why we have to qualify with our rifles. I gave them a history lesson about what happened to the 28th ID band in the Battle of the Bulge. They got the point and never questioned it again.

As an old training manager, the real issues are resources, time and money. These are highly limited in any company, so you have to base your decisions on analysis of data. You have to take into account two documents, risk analysis and training analysis before spending any money. If the risk of an Air Force base getting attacked was high and the duties of that airmen included defending the base than you could justify the expense of training Air Force Personnel to a high degree of competency. However, the opposite is true, so as a training manager, I would recommend the money be spent in areas that were critical to the completion of the airman's duties. Yes, there are exceptions for airmen; Pjs and security forces need a high level of competency because their duties require it. Otherwise, I see no justification for using millions of training dollars on a task that has a low level of risk. So, again, we stay combat ready by using resources, time and money wisely and focusing on the duties of the Airman.

SSgt Christ, since you were in the Air Force, you obviously are aware of the Air Force mission and how it differs from the sister branches. Or do you actually not know the difference? Every Airman has to qualify with the M4 at least once a year and more often leading up to a deployment. The Air Force is not a ground fighting force primarily. And that's ok! It doesn't need to emphasize weapons tactics or marksmanship like the Army or Marines. Having said that, I do agree Airman would benefit from more exposure to firearms, but I see it as a supplement, not a necessity as a well-functioning Airman. Also, don't place the blame on the Airmen for not knowing how to operate a rifle. Again, they get exposure at BMT and then only once a year after that, if they aren't in SF or a SpecOps job. Be patient with those fellow Airmen and maybe offer to train them after hours or have lunch with them and share your knowledge.

I joined the army to be an aircraft mechanic and an aviator, because I wanted to be above all that stuff; that is to say on that one day in Vietnam when we got shot down and my infantry training from basic and AIT came flooding back to me! And I was glad it did, on that special day I fired my .38, my M-14, my M-60 and picked up a Purple Heart! I agree with you, any one who joins the military should be weapons qualified!

The Marines gave it right, everyone a Rifleman first!