Posted on May 28, 2015
Why don't all members of the Air Force have to be fully qualified to be a rifleman in case of hostile events?
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I have noticed through the years of being in the Air Force (Security Forces member here) that most people in the Air Force are clueless when it comes to M-4/M-16/M-9. This is outrageous! What are they supposed to do if the enemy comes knocking on our door step and everyone needs to fight. I have taught classes on the M-4 with communication airmen and have seen them completely mess up clearing out the weapon, loading it (magazine upside down or rounds the wrong way), and just completely incapable of achieving a zero on target after four rounds of firing. I am a big fan of how the Army and Marines teach that your are always a rifleman first. It almost seems like some of the Airmen don't expect to carry a weapon (ummmm why did you join the military in the first place)? I wish the Air Force would pick up on this to make us a more combat ready force. But, enough of me what are your thoughts?
Rifleman
3P: Security Forces
Air Force
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 907
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I totally agree. I was in the AF Security Police back in the early 1980s stationed at Castle AFB, CA (SAC). I was on a 4 man fire team qualified with the M16, M60, and M203. We constantly ran exercises to ensure we could defend all the B52s and other priority weapons. I believe that basic training should train all airmen more with Air Base Ground Defense to be ready to be augmented if needed.
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Fly your planes, shoot people on the ground, bomb them, and ferry ground fighters to where they need to be, and don't worry about being a gunman yourself. I was in the USN for a career and had training, but under no circumstances was I ever expected to use it unless there was an emergency, and bubba I mean a real emergency. Not much call for an expert rifleman out on the seas bouncing around on ships.
GW
GW
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IF you remember when you went through BASIC you had to go to the range and shoot an M-16! I was trained, as a part of my job, to be a part of a 44 man mobility team. I don't know if they still to that, BUT I know that all Security Forces personnel still go through "Camp Bullis"! Many forget but we do have a contingency that many Airman are assigned as AUGMENTS to the SF and assist at the gates and other areas to provide support while the MAIN SF personnel can provide the main force of the assault and attract teams when and where needed. Todays' Security Forces (Security Police in my day) have branched out into a larger part of the Security Forces and are trained (in more detail) in the protection of the bases and aircraft.
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A missing element in the conversation is the incredibly inadequate training of most of the Air Force. When I entered the Air Force in 1986, we touched a weapon exactly once...and that was an m16 modified to fire 22 rounds that jammed every other shot and trained to clear the weapon? No. We raised our hand so range personnel could do it for us. Officer training school in 1995 wasn't much better though we did fire the m9 as well. Add to that only qualifying when deployment is coming and you have your answer. I totally agree most communications types are pretty challenged but it's not on them, proficiency requires training regularly and I recall numerous times in my career when we were given a reduced amount of ammo due to shortages due to budget...you want proficiency, it has a cost.
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I was assigned to an ROTC detachment at a university in a city where there was also a Navy Reserve detachment. Since I had a rifle range for university and ROTC use, I was asked to host an M16 qualification event for Navy personnel from E5 to O4. I asked the coordinator this same question: "why are these people not already qualified?" He said, "Well, we figure if the enemy can withstand our 16-inch guns and then walk across the ocean to attack us, we're pretty much screwed anyway."
But of course, that was tongue in cheek. He saw the value in having his people qualified in the basic combat rifle, and took action to see it done. They all qualified.
But of course, that was tongue in cheek. He saw the value in having his people qualified in the basic combat rifle, and took action to see it done. They all qualified.
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The Air Force is a combat force. I was an SP (now SF) in the air force. One of the duties of SP/LE/SF if is Air Base Ground Defense (ABGD) our duties were to protect the base, so the rest of the base could do their jobs. Like maintain aircraft readiness, so that the base can defend it's self from the air. Not sure if it still exist, but we also had an agmenty force (sure it's spelled wrong) which was comprised of individuals who were qualified to carry an M-16 and would assist our unit if needed. Things at a base would have to be pretty dire for those people to call to action. Today's SF are well equipped and trained to handle any situation that may occur on or around a military installation that they are assigned to.
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I was in SAC from 1963 to 1966, and the only time I got fire a rifle was in basic training. We were using WW2 M2 carbines. I scored a 93 at 100 yards. I was brought up with firing a 22 rifle. I never got to fire a gun again in the Airforce. Our annual qualification was only none on paper. Our gate guards were all AF police. Ted McNamara
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I was aircrafts maintenance and then I switched to Ops. I have no idea how to shoot a gun and that is why I joined the airforce because I don't want to know. I want to just have a job where I used my brain and thats it. If I wanted to shoot people I could've stayed in Detroit. If it comes down to airforce personnel having to use guns, we've already lost the fight lol.
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Growing up we saw Air Force pickups parked at the Circle K all the time with a gun rack in the window. They were actually security for the various missile silos around southern Arizona. Everyone in the military has a job, some use weapons as their tool, some use a wrench, some use a potato peeler.
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