CATM: Keeping the 442nd Fighter Wing on target
By Tech. Sgt. Leo Brown and Staff Sgt. Angela Blazier, 442nd Fighter Wing public affairs
/ Published January 23, 2006
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- As Air Force reservists deploy more frequently into hostile environments, the training provided by the 442nd Security Forces Squadron’s Combat Arms Training and Maintenance team becomes even more valuable.
“If they’re going to be carrying a weapon, they won’t be on an easy tour of duty,” said Staff Sgt. Bridget Lund, combat arms specialist and instructor. “I want the students to think, ‘If I carry (a weapon), I may have to use it.’”
Each unit training assembly, Master Sgt. Mark Weber and his team (Tech. Sgts. Mike Boessen and Rob Fischer, and Staff Sgts. Lund and Van Swearingin) are charged with instructing roughly 30 students who bring a variety of firearms experience and know-how.
“I’ve been doing this for 20 years ... (and) you have to keep in mind the level of knowledge of the students,” said Sergeant Weber, non-commissioned officer in charge of armory combat arms. “We hit the full gambit.”
“It’s not just security forces who carry weapons,” Sergeant Lund said.
The team deals with the M-4 carbine (carried by security forces Airmen), the M-16A2 rifle, the M-9 pistol, the M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon, the M-240B machine gun (which replaced the M-60) and the M-203, 40 mm grenade launcher.
With such firepower, safety is always of the utmost concern, Sergeant Weber said.
“Safety is stressed all the time,” he said. “In the classroom, it’s stressed. On the range, it’s stressed ... even before, during and after firing.”
“We’re liable for these students,” said Sergeant Fischer, combat arms specialist and instructor. “If someone gets hurt, they’re under our guidance, so we don’t let things get too humorous.”
Sergeant Weber further emphasizes the levity of the situation.
“It’s not a game. It’s serious,” Sergeant Weber said. “With today’s events going on in the world, this takes a more serious turn. I tell the students, ‘If you get deployed, I’m not there with you. It’s you and the weapon and if it breaks - you have to fix it.’”
The combat arms team has many tools at their disposal to train wing personnel. One such tool is the combat arms simulator, formerly known as the Combat Arms Training System.
“It gives us the opportunity to work with an individual one-on-one,” Sergeant Weber said. “The simulator room is a great tool to take an individual who’s struggling with live fire – to show them exactly what they’re doing wrong.”
With such an important job, there is really only one goal for Sergeant Lund.
“I hope everybody attending this class will learn something that’ll save lives ... (and) when the time comes, they remember what we taught them,” she said.