CATM range reopens after earthquake damage

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kaleb Snay
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  After almost 10 months of closure, the 35th Security Forces Squadron's Combat Arms Training and Maintenance range reopened Jan. 4 during a unique ribbon cutting ceremony here.

Instead of cutting through a ribbon with scissors, wing leadership shot a clay pigeon suspended by ribbon in the repaired, indoor shooting facility.

"This range is vital in supporting the 35th Fighter Wing's mission, ensuring Airmen can protect themselves and our weapon platforms whether here or supporting operations downrange," said Maj. Leo Martin, 35th SFS commander.

The facility has been closed due to damage caused by the 9.0 earthquake that rocked Japan's eastern coast March 11, 2011.

The earthquake caused a large portion in the back right side of the firing range, known as a bullet trap, to shift back approximately three inches, said Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Potts, 35 SFS, non-commissioned officer in charge of combat arms. The shift move individual steel plates out of place, he added.

The damage immediately made the firing line unsafe because it increased the risk of ricocheting bullets to shoot back toward students, said Potts. The CATM instructors notified wing leadership and the range was closed for repairs.

With the range out of order and set for more than $450,000 in repairs, Airmen with pre-deployment weapon qualification requirements had to travel to another small weapons range to fire.

Up to three of the four CATM instructors traveled to Yokota Air Base, Japan with as many as 35 students twice a month to use the 374th Air Wing's firing range there. The trip lasted three days and took coordination with the 35th Logistics Readiness Squadron and the Japanese National Police. They transported and stored weapons and ammo and spent eight to 12 hours on the range the next day. They then repacked the weapons and ammo and drove back early the next day, said Potts.

The average cost per trip was between $15,000 to $20,000 and put strain on the CATM instructors.

"It was a lot of wear and tear on my guys," said Potts. "It's not good to push them that hard for that long, so it's good to see us back up to normal operations."

The range closure also affected security forces Airmen here who use weapons on a day-to-day basis to defend the base. They received a waiver allowing them to be 12 months past their qualifications' expiration dates.

"Weapons firing is a core competency for security forces and is a perishable skill that diminishes without practice," said Martin. "Security forces are required to qualify on their primary weapons a minimum of twice a year to maintain proficiency."

Now that the range has been fully repaired, prequalifying security forces will be a top priority, said Potts. The rebuilt range will also greatly reduce the amount of money the wing has to spend to qualify Airmen. Now those funds can be allocated elsewhere, he added.

The range is deemed operationally safe and servicemembers can begin local weapons qualifications beginning Jan. 10.