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

I agree with you whole heartly, I don't know what they are thinking about. The only thing I do know is the Pararescue Is what It Is ,Because to apply you have to be prior special forces in another branch of militarfor at least five (5) years. Also with a medical background .

I agree with your question 100%. I joined the USAF in 1979 because it was the 'least military' of all branches... For MANY Airmen, weapon training was limited to firing an M-16, modified to shoot .22 LR ONE TIME during Basic Training... and many never saw a weapon for the remainder of their four-year enlistment!

I came to realize that in today's (late 70s/early 80s) highly mobile modern battlefield THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS 'REAR ECHELON'... what is considered 'rear echelon' today can easily become BEHIND THE LINES tomorrow. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO USE A WEAPON AT THAT TIME, YOU ARE DEAD!

Additionally, seeing how much danger an inept President (at that time, it was Carter) put us all in was my wakeup call. The Iranian Hostage Crisis, the Sandinistas taking over Nicaragua and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan all made me realize that the shit can hit the fan at any time, and I wanted to make sure I was able to defend myself.

I was assigned as a Classified Cargo Courier, requiring annual qualification on the M-16. I decided that the annual training was insufficient, so I purchased an AR-15, and practiced regularly... I realized how bad things were when I was giving a friend a ride, and he saw a 30 round AR-15 magazine in my car and said "This looks like part of a gun." I wish he was joking, but he WASN'T.

It all boils down the the fact that we were (are) members of the US Military. Our ID cards said "ARMED Forces of the United States"... we ALL need to be able to protect each other's backs if and when the Shit Hits The Fan!

in 1996 when I was a Unit Deployment Manager, we were moving out 45 airman and all had to qualify on the M-16. The qualifications went well for almost everyone. We had one young SSgt who failed to qualify three times. He should have been removed from the AF for not being able to qualify. However, he was the best aircraft maintainer in the squadron and the commander deployed him. Point is, the Air Force is inherently technicians, not rifleman.

That is about the stupidist reason iv ever heard. All men and women of all armed forces (note the word armed) should be a least checked out on firearms.

So in what situation would a airman be able to use a rifle, you are not combat trained for a reason! If they wanted to be in combat, they would have joined another branch of service, I suggest you stop mudding the water and just do your job, because it seems to me you aren't!!

I don not know what the training is now but when i went through Basic in 76 we were taught on M-16 and how to break it down clean and reassemble. and then went to the firing range to shot, granted alot of us did not know what hell they were doing but i did as i had gun training and used guns as a teenager so I enjoyed the chance to use the gun. By the way i went into Aircraft Maintenance and worked C-141's my whole 8 years and went all over the world flying on them but did not have to carry any weapons. But i do know that if the situation had come up i would have looked for and used any weapon i could get my hands on.

I retired from POL in 2011, but qualified every two years. Every time I deployed to the AOR, I deployed with a M-16. I understand the mindset of office workers not expecting to ever use a rifle, but wished we could have spent more range time, myself. I personally believe that everyone in the services should have to qualify at least annually. Too many younger Airmen saw their service as a job with great benefits, but didn't see the real purpose. Even though I only worked fuels, I deployed enough and saw enough rockets, mortars, and small arms fire coming toward me to understand our roll as members of the military. I shudder to think what the mindset is these days... I truly worry about the military's capabilities these days. If we look at it historically, Airmen were armed AND using their rifles in many of the past conflicts, regardless of career field. How many times were FOBs in Vietnam and Korea under attack by ground forces? If things escalate beyond Ukraine, we will get the call. This newer generation of Airman are not ready.

For the most part, I agree with the other branches calling it the Chair Force. Even a lot of Security Forces is not ready for the reality of pulling the trigger. I hope I'm wrong...

It’s based on exposure to hostile fire. Security Forces a lot of combat skills training and CE gets regular marksmanship training but some other AFSCs get less. I was in CE.

That is down right stupid. I know what their thinking is but its stupid. ALL branches of the military should take the Marine Approach. EVERYONE is 1st and foremost a ground troop. THEN ur MOS. Simple reason is u never know if ur protection is going to breakdown. And if it does and Airforce then has a lot of preventable deaths on their hands.

The Air Force is basicly Boy Scouts that fly.