Barksdale AFB, La. -- Air Force Reserve members from Barksdale Air Force Base, La. traveled to Ft. Polk, La. to complete annual training with the M240B and M249 machine guns on the weapons range there Feb. 11, 2012.
"The 18 Airmen, 10 from the 307th Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers and eight from the 307th Security Forces Squadron, had to use the Ft. Polk weapons range because the one at Barksdale AFB is too short to meet qualification standards," said Tech. Sgt. Brian Tyler, 307th SFS combat arms craftsman.
"A range of 550 meters is needed for the M249 and of 1,300 meters for the 240B," said Tech. Sgt. Christopher Cook, 307th REDHORSE inventory management technician.
Tyler, who served as one of the range cadre for the training, said the longer range at Ft. Polk meets the needs of the M240 and M249 machine guns and provides better training for Airmen.
Cook, who also served as one of the range cadre for the training, said the correct training is critical as REDHORSE is a self sufficient unit and must be ready to employ both weapons correctly in a combat environment.
"Repetition in training is also a key element in using the weapons correctly," said Tyler.
"If you don't use these weapons annually, then you lose muscle memory and that is what this training is all about, retaining that memory so we can be effective," said Tyler.
Senior Airman Clint Melancon, 307th SFS journeyman, found the conditions of training to be very effective. "It was very educational," he said. "I loved it."