Air Force Combat Ammunition School celebrates 25 years

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Shawn Nickel
  • 9th RW Public Affairs
BEALE AFB, Calif., --  The Department of Defense's only Combat Ammunition School celebrated its 25th Anniversary at the schoolhouse here Sept. 16.

During the celebration the AFCOMAC building was dedicated the Marquez Academic Hall in honor of (ret.) Lt. Gen. Leo Marquez, who started the school.

"This building was chosen to be named in honor of the general because every munitions Airman in the Air Force walks through these halls and learns about combat employment and the building is here because of the great vision of Lt. Gen. Marquez," said Maj. Neal Van Houten, 9th Munitions Squadron commander.

During the dedication, General Marquez said he has always considered helping create the AFCOMAC his greatest accomplishment in the Air Force.

"Thank you so much for this honor today," he said. "I am extremely pleased in the way this school has turned out. It's a tremendous tribute to all the [Airmen] who have come before you doing the dirty job of building ammunition."

General Marquez described an experience during the Vietnam War when ammunition Airmen lacked experience and needed more supplies and proper equipment.

"AFCOMAC was an idea I had to replace the experiences I had and the troops that had retired after the war," he said. "It has gone from a small idea to this place that trains thousands of men and women to do the most important job of handling ammunition."

Along with the dedication ceremony, many distinguished guests and the entire munitions squadron looked on as scores of accomplishments were remembered, one of which was the impressive safety record the squadron holds.

"We have consistently executed the largest munitions operation in the Air Force eight times per year," said Major Van Houten. "That totals safely handling more than 2.7 million pounds of munitions per year."

Although building more than 254,000 bombs has kept the schools cadre moving over the last quarter of a century, at times they have temporarily closed their doors to support wars with the experience and expertise that builds the squadron.

"We have deployed our expertise in operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Desert Fox, Allied Force and Operation Iraqi Freedom," said Major Van Houten. "Our graduates have done much more. They have built and delivered over 280,000 bombs dropped in combat operations in Libya, Panama, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan."

He explained munitions Airmen have a proud tradition to continue since AFCOMAC has quickly become the core of combat tactics which exports vital experience to the Air Force's most critical resource, it's Airmen.

"We will continue on that path and train our Airmen to build the newest munitions for the newest aircraft. They will continue to 'keep the peace by being prepared for war.' The festivities of the day were flawless and a fitting tribute consistent with the high standards of this schoolhouse, squadron and career field. I'm proud to stand in front of AMMO troops each day in their mission to boost combat capability. The best part about my AMMO Airmen is that they don't know how to fail," said Major Van Houten.