The three-week training course included coaching techniques, range management, and procedures for the preparation of marksmanship training programs. Army's advanced rifle marksmanship coaches class at Fort Benning, Georgia from 26 January to 15 February 1958. The marksmanship program was designed by Colonel Tom Kelly, former Commander of Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, and under the direction of Colonel Peter W. In 1958, twenty-five experienced USAF competitive shooters were selected to become the initial instructor cadre of the USAF Marksmanship Center located at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The experience of the Korean War encouraged General LeMay, then Vice Chief of Staff and former Strategic Air Command commander, to pursue a course that was to change the way weapons training was received by Air Force personnel. The US Air Force Police Alumni Association website addresses this claim on their website. Please note not everyone agrees the 'Kimpo Massacre' occurred. Only the Air Police were routinely trained in marksmanship and maintenance of small arms. The few serviceable ones were of little use as personnel were not trained in their use, unable to even load or aim them. The majority of the base weapons were inoperable due to lack of maintenance. One result was the inability of the majority of personnel at Kimpo to successfully defend themselves and the base. Prior to the Korean War, no formal program of weapons training existed.

The resulting investigation revealed serious deficiencies in the way small arms training was perceived and carried out in the Air Force.

This hangar still stands today as a memorial to those who died without a chance to fight. The remaining personnel found alive by the Chinese were hanged in the main hangar on Kimpo. The general base population was then easily defeated before reinforcements arrived to drive the enemy back. The Air Police Squadron was so overwhelmed that they were forced to fight a rear guard action before being annihilated. The most significant was the tragedy at Kimpo Air Base, Korea, which was overrun by a numerically superior Chinese communist force. To discharge these responsibilities, the fundamental military concept of competency with firearms must be reinstated within the Air Force.ĭuring the Korean War, several incidents occurred which called attention to the small arms training provided to Air Force personnel. All Air Force personnel have defense responsibilities against overt and covert enemy action. The internal defense of USAF bases and the survival of downed aircrew members may be dependent upon individual proficiency with assigned firearms. Combat Arms Instructors are the Air Forces small arms weapons Subject Matter Experts (SME). Combat Arms personnel also provide training in safeguarding weapons, ammunition and equipment instructing small arms weapons qualification training and providing guidance on weapons placement to SF and other ground defense force commanders. Their duties include operating firing ranges and associated facilities, enforcing range safety, inspecting/repairing weaponry, performing preventative maintenance, developing/utilizing training aides and determining training/maintenance resource requirements. Combat Arms specialists lead, manage, supervise and implement small arms weapons training programs. AFSC 3P0X1B, SEI 312 (TSgt and above) are Security Forces personnel who completed the 10 week Combat Arms Apprentice Course ( Lackland AFB) and conduct marksmanship training to prepare all Air Force personnel for home station and deployment operations.

JSTOR ( June 2008) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ĭombat Arms Training and Maintenance (CATM), or simply Combat Arms are United States Air Force Security Forces personnel who train base populace on the use of small arms, oversee, maintain and repair all small arms in the U.S.

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.įind sources: 'Combat Arms Training and Maintenance' – news Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.

Combat arms mos