NOT-SO-BASIC TRAINING

Hoston Chron ^ | April 24, 2006 | JOHN W. GONZALEZ

[Yo-Yo]

I went through Lackland in Sept of 1977. 6 weeks of Basic Training, and we had 1/2 of one day on the Confidence (obstacle) Course, and 1/2 of 1 day on the rifle range.

[txroadhawg]

I went thru Lackland in October 77, I was very disappointed in the weapons training, or lack there of.

[RadioAstronomer]

About time!

[Shimmer128]

The AF isn't as anything as the Marines or the Army (or the Navy, for that matter)
Sorry to say....

[Gaffer]

I went through in 1968 and we had more time on both than that..Although we never got to the stage of breaking down the rifles. I have an SP-1 almost just like the AF M-16 I used (except for the auto-part). No forward assist or shell deflector.

I'm glad to see them take it up a notch or two. Them little Muslim fellers can be deadly almost anywhere......

[robowombat]

In spite of these unpleasant realities intruding into the Lackland universe during Viet-Nam and I understand Korea before that USAF basic training continued to focus on the really significant:

There is a decreasing amount of time for "airmanship" skills, including T-shirt folding.

"Six months ago, we were folding T-shirts in 6-inch squares. We were folding our socks in thirds and trying to get the edges as even as possible," said instructor Staff Sgt. Jacob Chavez.

A fiend of mine said that Lackland and USAF junior enlisted life as a whole was akin to attending some dismal cross between a bad boarding school and a mediocre high school.

[rhombus]

I see AF folk every day who fly desks. They are all practicing with M16s these days.

[joe fonebone]

When I was in the Navy, we called them the "Air Farce", because everyone knew they were not the real military.........

[txroadhawg]

A friend of mine said that Lackland and USAF junior enlisted life as a whole was akin to attending some dismal cross between a bad boarding school and a mediocre high school.

That about sums it up. The AF during the 70-80's was not what it should have been. On the bright side, I still fold my underwear and t-shirts the AF way, i just dont iron them anymore

[dandelion]

My daughter flies a desk for Air Force intel, and she'll be the first to say that they needed more combat training (she's a deadly knife-thrower and a wicked shooter - but she was trained at home). Now she says they are really clamping down on all the combat arts and PT, and she's glad.

I'm proud of mommy's little Airman!!

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

and 1/2 of 1 day on the rifle range.

Did you guys fire the Daisy Shadow Plus or the Crosman Pumpmaster?

(Who knew the Air Force had rifles?)

[Lurker]

I came within inches of joining the Air Force in 1980, but the recruiter misplaced my paperwork.

When I told my next door neighbor, a retired Marine WO, what happened he literally put me in his car and drove me to the Marine recruiters office.

That guy saved my life....

L

[stumpy]

In 1967-1968 the air force did not allow their troops in Danang (other than the air police on duty) to be armed at all.

So what's new 40 years later (they don't trust them with weapoons.

[Muleteam1]

>>I went through in 1968 <<

1968 for me as well but at Amarillo AFB. Not much M-1 or M-16 training as I recall but being an old east Texas squirrel hunter, I wonder how much it could have helped.

Muleteam1

[Yo-Yo]

We did have one afternoon of classroom instruction where we were taught how to pop the rear pin, hinge open the upper and lower receivers, and pull out the bolt carrier. We also were shown how to remove and replace the forearm grips as well.

Beyond that, we were told we didn't need to how to disassemble the M-16 (some of the training rifles were stamped Colt AR-15, I presume part of the original lot purchased by Gen. LeMay) unless we went on to Security Police training.

[Gefreiter]

"A few even had their guns taken away as a safety precaution."

chortle...that's awfully drastic...

[ansel12]

"I still think that the Air Force isn't as dangerous as the Army or Marines," Reed said."




She seems like a sweet little girl, a little naive perhaps.

[ops33]

You are right, but we (I) trained for a different mission. I was an air traffic controller and deployed to Oman during the first Gulf War. Because of my training I, and the people who worked for me, did an excellent job working more aircraft than any of us had ever seen. That being said, if I was at a base that was under attack by enemy ground forces I would have been next to useless. No training in war fighting skills. The AF is not lacking in ability, just training.