AFCOMAC Teaches Air Force Ammo Troops Twice Over

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Alexis Pentzer
  • 9th Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  

After 37 years, the Air Force Combat Ammunition Course (AFCOMAC) has graduated its 20,000th student. This milestone is a huge feat for the AFCOMAC schoolhouse and its instructors.

 

AFCOMAC’s first class was held in 1986 at Sierra Army Depot in California, and was later moved to Beale AFB in 1991. This course initially moved to Beale because of funding and logistical shortfalls. Since then, the Munitions Storage Area (MSA) has become an ideal location for combat training due to the set up of production pads and storage warehouses which simulate a bare-base, deployed environment.

 

The AFCOMAC schoolhouse was formed to strengthen the Air Force’s ability to perform mass munitions production operations in a combat environment. All ammo troops are required to attend this course to receive their 7 and 9 skill level upgrade training. 

 

“If you think about it, the Air Force has roughly 10,000 ammo troops, total force,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Gervys Olimpo, 9th Munitions Squadron AFCOMAC combat advisor. “So it's like we've taught the entire career field basically twice.”

 

The 20,000th graduate represents all the hard work the AFCOMAC schoolhouse has put in toward ensuring that they produce the most productive and well trained ammo troops. Each student that goes through AFCOMAC will take that knowledge back to their home stations and share what they learned with everyone in their unit.

 

“I think it's a really good course, especially for communication,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Marshall Lonetree-Burgess, 649th Munitions Squadron munition inspector, Hill AFB, Utah and 20,000th AFCOMAC graduate. “It also brings together the senior noncommissioned officers with the new and up and coming noncommissioned officers (NCO), so you get to learn a lot from them along with the cadre that have been here. It's just a great overall course that really rounds out a younger NCO.”

 

The AFCOMAC schoolhouse supports ammo troops and munitions officers from all MAJCOMs and its students are stationed worldwide. Due to this, the course curriculum is developed and rewritten at least annually to ensure it meets the requirements of current Combatant Command operations abroad. In doing so, AFCOMAC students receive the most up to date training and are combat capable immediately following this training. 

 

Since its inception, AFCOMAC instructors have worked to make sure that their students are proficient in the course materials through classroom and hands-on training. Having taught the 20,000th graduate, they have reached a huge accomplishment in the history of the schoolhouse and toward the Air Force as a whole.

 

“I’m proud to work alongside the Air Force’s best and brightest ammo troops every day.” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Christopher Parmer, 9th MUNS director of operations. “The fact that we are able to provide combat capability for the Air Force with impacts spanning the globe daily is both exciting and humbling.”

 

The AFCOMAC schoolhouse graduating its 20,000th student is a testament to the advanced munitions training and DoD-wide combat capability that the 9th MUNS has provided over the past three decades.