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

I see your argument however don’t know if it matters.

Just imagine the pandemonium if an order was made for every Airman to grab a rifle at a state side base. Few would know where the armory is located.

On that note...imagine how many times you could shave and grow your beard and shave again before they find enough gas masks for everyone to wear. Just sayin.

In the Air Force I was one of the combat ready forces. In the time I was on active duty there were only a few combat AFSCs and I was assigned to one of them. When I didn't have to qualify as often as the Army or Marines, I still went to a civilian range and got in practice with a weapon far superior to the M16, namely the AR15 I custom built for myself. That experience came in handy as the weapon the Air Force issued me for Desert Shield/Desert Storm proved to be defective.

To require Airmen to fulfill combat security duties two things would be affected"
1. Additional airmen would e required to man the aircraft and aircraft component maintenance and upkeep. The distraction combat duties would segregate all systems being maintained.
During my early years in the Air Force when wages and benefits were below a livable standard I had to work a second civiliAn job which paid more than my military pay, therefore my dedication was focused on the higher paying position. I made rank slower but my over all income was higher.

Focus on military technical equipment such as the complex aircraft and related systems would be degregated with the interruption of having to fill combat security duties.

During my tour of duty all Air force members; including Air national guard have to qualify in the different weapons basic arms training doctrine war fare. That includes going to the weapons qualification range to be arms combat ready. Every year all members have to actualize and qualify in weapons management and firing techniques. And I am from the Gulf War Era. God Bless America and with a humble proud spirit; we hold the record of Air Supremacy (Air Force warriors of the air).

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.