"Say Hello To My Little Friend!"

Thursday found the Hellcats on the Combat Arms Training and Maintenance course. Cadet Maas should have been in his element once again. Here’s the WebGuy definition for the CATM course:

CATM (Combat Arms Training and Maintenance)

Mission: The course trains basic cadets on the nomenclature, assembly/disassembly, and safe operation of the Colt M-16A2 rifle.  Basic cadets fire at the Air Force Qualification Course (AFQC). If basic cadets earn an expert rating for the M-16 AFQC, they will be authorized the wear of the USAF small arms expert ribbon.

WebGuy Translation: You get to shoot stuff.

WebGuy Rating (Fun Level Scale 1 - 10) CATM is 7.

"Are you talking to me? Is he talking to me?"

Graham with the Colt M-16A2 rifle.

It’s a well-known fact that Graham was on the US National Modern Pentathlon team. One of the components is shooting. It’s a little-known fact that during Graham’s second ever trip to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, he met with the US National Shooting coach and spent the better part of an entire day with him. Graham was asked to become a member of the national shooting youth team, but he politely declined as his focus was on ModPen. I guess hitting a bullseye (the size of a quarter from 10-meters) five times in under 8-seconds will garner that kind of attention. Especially when you are just thirteen.

I hope Graham had a great shooting day and enjoyed it. I can’t wait to talk with him about his experience with the Colt rifle.

Graham is at station 50.

Graham got to shoot a number of weapons while in Boy Scouts.

Graham with his first roomie during BCT 1, Drew Martin.

Yesterday we were talking about the CBRNE course, and I said I would provide more information when I had it.  CBRNE (pronounced "SEE-burn") stands for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive materials.   During the CBRNE course, the Basics are walked through various situations and are taught how to deal with them. And as I showed you yesterday, the cadets also get exposed to tear-gas. I just didn’t know the specifics at the time.

The Basics put on their protective gear and gas masks, enter the container of gas, remove their masks, breathe in all the goodness, and then are released to go outside. Then they walk around in circles while flapping their arms and not touching their faces.  Why is flapping one’s arms part of this training?  Brisk movement can help the recovery.   Flapping the arms and rubbing the hair in a breeze or standing in front of a large fan will disperse most of the particles from the clothing and hair.  Within five to ten minutes the symptoms produced by the agent should disappear. 

This shipping container server as the gas chamber for the basic cadets.

Inside you went. Doors closed. Then you removed your gas mask.

And were eventually let out.

Note: You can see all the photos of Graham that we found of the CATM Course at this Flickr album. This album is currently sorted from newest to oldest photo.