Squadron members, teams utilize non-lethal paint rounds ... on each other

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Wesley Carnes
  • 908th Security Forces
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  Anyone can aim down the sights and shoot at a fixed-paper target 40 meters away. However, it becomes much more difficult when the targets are fellow airmen acting as hostile adversaries. 

During the October UTA, the men and women of the 908th Security Forces Squadron went to the M203 grenade launcher firing range for "a little fun." Once a year, SFS members are afforded the opportunity of taking a little aggression out on one other with the use of their weapons, accompanied with - if precisely aimed - very painful Simunitions (non-lethal training rounds).

"This is the most realistic training available to SFS at this time," said Technical Sgt. Donahue. "If you make a mistake, you feel it and you push through. If you don't push through, you continue feeling those tiny projectiles slamming against your body until you get it right.  And eventually, you will get it right."

These training scenarios, implemented by SNCOs and NCOs, help to prepare Airmen for real-world situations they might face one day.  

Simunitions are a type of training round used by all branches of the military for exercise purposes. Traveling at an impressive 325 feet per second, the round's paint-filled projectile tip leaves a luminous mark when it collides with another object. Simunitions are capable of being fired by every small-arm weapon in the United States Air Force arsenal.

Because there is a risk of injury when utilizing Simunitions, Airmen wear the proper personal protective equipment to cover the head, face, throat, chest, hands and groin areas. All other body parts are fair game!

These rounds come in extremely handy while SF units fulfill the annually required Shoot, Move, and Communicate (SMC) course. 

The course was implemented across the Air Force in March of 2010 in a crawl-walk-run format. It starts with dry firing weapons while communicating and conducting team movements, then members fire as individuals on the move. Next, members move as a team and engage targets down range.

Finally, using team tactics, members attempt to accurately and efficiently engage targets that are returning fire.

"Through the use of Simunition rounds, members are provided realistic training where they must move and communicate as a team while engaging targets," said Master Sgt. Christopher Foote. "It replaces the old sustainment firing where SF members would shoot live ammunition on the range. The course provides members with the chance to fire while moving - much like we would in real-world situations - as opposed to laying down on a line and firing from a static position."

During the intense simunition training, the brothers and sisters of the 908th SFS family took on the appearence of other fueding families, the Hatfield's and McCoy's. But the abrupt interruption in unit camaraderie was short-lived. At the end of the day, the SFS family was back together joking, laughing, and comparing the day's trophies - the size of each other's welts.