Homestead ARB's CATM section sets crosshairs on excellence

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jacob Jimenez
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. --  Tucked away in a corner of Homestead Air Reserve Base, the 482nd Security Forces Squadron's Combat Arms Training and Maintenance section is helping Airmen of the 482nd Fighter Wing continue to fight the war on terrorism and protect their fellow Airmen.

The mission of the 482nd's CATM section is to provide Airmen with an array of quality firearms training and testing to meet the requirements necessary to do their jobs both at their home station and deployed.

All Airmen under 482nd FW who are required to test and qualify, to include the Department of the Air Force Police, do so through the CATM section. CATM personnel service and qualify more than 500 Airmen and Department of the Air Force Police each year. The base's tenant units, such as the U. S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Branch, Special Operations Command South, Air Force Office of Special Operations, and FBI Miami, also utilize the range and classrooms to conduct their own training and testing.

The CATM instructors main focus is to ensure Airmen are comfortable, knowledgeable, and fully prepared to use and maintain their weapon. Through rigorous and thorough training and instruction, more than 90 percent of Airmen who test at Homestead ARB's CATM range qualify on their first attempt.

"We train our Airmen to be able to efficiently and effectively engage a target with every shot," said Master Sgt. Faye Chambers-Revell, 482nd Security Forces Squadron Combat Arms Training and Maintenance program manager. "This training is essential so Airmen can defend themselves properly and come home alive."

As the program manager, Chambers-Revell is responsible for training the Airmen who will then go on to be the CATM instructors. All the firearms knowledge and training trickles down from her.

"My instructors understand each Airman's life is just as important as the next and that all our students deserve our best instruction," she said.

Airmen are scheduled to qualify within the 90 days prior to a deployment or annually, depending on their job, to stay within Air Force regulations. The 482nd's CATM section trains and tests on a variety of firearms, including the M-16 rifle, M-4 carbine, shotgun, M-203 grenade launcher, M-9 pistol, M-249 automatic rifle, and M-240B machine gun. The CATM instructors provide training on all the weapons but the "heavy" weapons which are the M-249 and M-240B. These are fired at a private firing range in the city of Homestead, Fla. However, the grenade launcher is fired on base at a designated explosive range.

"We instruct on a wide variety of firearms," said Chambers-Revell. "We have to be very well-informed and know everything there is to know about each weapon so we can effectively train our Airmen. If we miss a single detail, the result could be life or death."

But a day at CATM goes beyond target practice and plinking off rounds at the firing range. Airmen spend most of the day in the classroom, receiving in-depth instructions and demonstrations, ultimately to end the day on the range. Classes begin with teaching weapon safety, firearm nomenclature and characteristics, loading and weapon function, caring and clearing, assembling and disassembling, and shooting fundamentals. After the class instruction, students begin shooting a practice session at the range, followed by their evaluation. During an evaluation for the M-4, Airmen must hit the target on 17 of 24 rounds to qualify. All told, Airmen fire 192 rounds, to include both practice and evaluation rounds.

"The testing and training is rigorous, but we definitely take the time necessary to ensure no one is lagging behind or not understanding something," said Chambers-Revell. "Everyone responds differently to firearms and we have to account for that. But the ideal student is teachable in that he or she is willing to relearn something they might already know."

Chambers-Revel has been in the CATM game going on a quarter century and her knowledge and expertise continues to endure. She has served with several CATM sections throughout the Air Force and deployed in support of the war on terrorism.

"What I like most about my job is training my Airmen to become new instructors who display a can-do attitude, have pride and ownership in their work, and deliver the best product they can to students," she said. "It's the quality teaching my instructors give that helps Airmen qualify and shoot at an expert level."

According to Lt. Col. Harold J. Talbert III, 482nd Security Forces commander, Chambers-Revell's professionalism and dedication to the combat arms section has drastically improved the base's weapons training efficiency.

"She has led her section through numerous inspections and her dedication to duty and to her troops has been stellar," said Talbert.

The CATM range is also set to undergo renovations in the spring of 2013. Currently, the range is fitted to shoot non-lead ammunition and small caliber weapons. After the renovation, the range will become a modified indoor range, capable of withstanding lead ammunitions and CATM's highest caliber weapons and largest rounds. The renovation will also allow shooters to take the night vision portion of shooting courses, during the day, which presently can only be taken after dark, due to the course not being enclosed.

"The future looks bright for CATM," said Chambers-Revell. "With continued excellence and professionalism in the teaching and qualifying of our base's Airmen and a first rate range to come, I have confidence that good things are in store for this base's firing line."