You know, I thought about this too...but fortunately for us, these guys are in the Airforce and they are maintainers... (no offense intended for any AF personell) The likelyhood of them having to use a weapon anywhere other then a range is HIGHLY unlikely. lol. One of them told me he's been in 3 years and the last time he held an M-16 was in basic training. (One of them even made reference to Call of Duty on the XBOX for the use of weapons...I almost fell over
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Sit back, relax, you wound me up so I got to school you, gently, on Air Force Maintainers; not all are rear area jet or missile fixers. Before you guys raise a ruckus, you're our top cover and you have my utmost respect. We can not do our job without those A-10s running top cover. We can't do it either without you X1s, X2s and X3s keeping those birds ready in their holes to eliminate stupid nations at a moments notice. Now then:
If your talking F-15, -16, B-1, -2, -52 or any of the starch wing JET birds, low chance of using firearms. not impossible, but low chance. Lots of defensive layers between them and the bad guys. Now Helicopters and Prop planes (i.e. C-130, C-27), enlisted and officers; Aircrew and ground crew must stay very proficient on their weapons. Helicopters break. Anywhere, any time. Same with the prop birds, just fewer places to land. Regardless; they sometimes must be fixed on the spot they broke. Mr. bad guy in funny clothes, who doesn't like us, will try to make holes in us, the helicopter, whatever. So, proficiency is practiced extensively. Almost forgot the V-22 guys. They fit the bill too, just scare the tar out of me. If it can land anywhere, it can break anywhere. And it must be defended, cause it ain't leaving till we (maintenance) get it fixed. We REALLY HATE LOSING A BIRD!
My signature is meaningless unless you were in those career fields. The first was as a USMC CH-53A/D helicopter mechanic, then on the same type helicopters as a Crew Chief (always capitalized). After I stupidly left the Marine Corps, I got to join the Air Force. Started out as a heavy lift crew chief (doesn't have to be capitalized, speaks for its self) on H-3/H-53s. They combined the heavy lift and light lift career fields (all the Huey models; -D, -F, -H and N) and sent me to my first love the UH-1N (long story). Except for a one year stint on each of the HH-60G, HH-3E and HH-53Cs, All my AF time was on the UH-1N. Combine the Marine Corps, Air Force and recent civilian time I've got 27 +/- a month or so years on helicopters, 20 of them on the Hueys. I landed in some really screwed up places. None in "combat zones"; at least they weren't declared combat zones. I'll invite anyone to spend the night outside in SE Washington DC with nothing around you but gunfire, of which there was plenty, and then tell me it's not a "combat zone". Firearms proficiency becomes your #1 priority and #1 tool if you can carry. if you can't carry, get real good at chucking a 10 inch crescent wrench at some a** holes gourd. You practice, practice and prctice some more. There was a time I could put a screw driver through the side of a helicopter from 100 feet away....I can finally fess that stupid attack since those helicopters are sitting in the bone yard.
No offense taken. Everyone forgets the Air Force has Helicopters. We do and we have several missions. Our guys in the AOR are THE RESCUE force. The Army has Dust Off/medivac (FREAKING AWSOME PEOPLE!!!). We go behind enemy lines and get downed pilots and other people who need to GTFO of a bad sit immediately if not sooner. They go, like any helicopter can, whever the job takes them. And they don't leave anyone behind even at the risk of losing the helicopter and or crew. I've read some of the stories of our guys ops (unclassed, just don't make the news) that would match Black Hawk Down (did you know there were Air Force PJ's there?) in intensity. We've lost a lot of helicopters and we've lost 59 Rescue personell to date since we went into Crapcanistan. Doesn't sound like much but when the Rescue force is approximately 1% of the total Air Force, every one is worth their weight in Gold. Our Motto is "These Things We Do That Others May Live"; our emblem is the "Pregnant Angel" and our mark is the Green Feet of the Jolly Green Giant.
Final note in keeping with the theme of this thread: every Caution, Warning or Note was written "in blood". To clarify, someone did not follow the T.O. or did and the T.O. was WRONG(!!!) and because of that failure an injury occured. Usually non-fatal, too many times though, they were fatal. When it happened a red bordered change was sent out to the field to fix the problem and supplement the T.O. Oh T.O. means Technical Order, aka Bible, to you non AF folks..
I now release the podium to the next speaker.
Semper Fi, Crew Chief till I die.