On November 5, 1958, the first class of 32 students began training. With these personnel as a core for the newly formed USAF Marksmanship Center, bases throughout the world began selecting personnel to be sent to the center for training. The purpose of the initial cadre was to train Small Arms instructors and gunsmiths for assignment to all Air Force bases. The three-week training course included coaching techniques, range management, and procedures for the preparation of marksmanship training programs. Benning, GA, from January 26 to February 15, 1958. The original cadre attended the Army's advanced rifle marksmanship coaches class at Ft. The marksmanship program was designed by Colonel Tom Kelly and initially under the direction of Colonel Peter Agnell. In 1958, the USAF selected 25 experienced competitive shooters to become the initial instructor cadre of the USAF Marksmanship Center located at Lackland AFB, TX, where it remains active today. The experience of the Korean War encouraged General Curtis LeMay to change the way weapons training was conducted in the Air Force. ![]() Only the Air Police were routinely trained in marksmanship and maintenance of small arms. The few serviceable ones were of little use as personnel were not trained in their use, unable to even load or aim them. The majority of the base weapons were inoperable due to lack of maintenance. One result was the inability of the majority of personnel at Kimpo to successfully defend themselves and the base. Prior to the Korean War, no formal program of weapons training existed. The resulting investigation revealed serious deficiencies in the way small arms training was perceived and carried out in the Air Force. This hangar still stands today as a memorial to those who died without a chance to fight. The remaining personnel found alive by the Chinese were hung in the main hangar on Kimpo. The general base population was then easily defeated before reinforcements arrived to drive the enemy back. The Air Police Squadron was so overwhelmed that they were forced to fight a rear guard action before being annihilated. The most significant was the tragedy at Kimpo Air Base, Korea, which was overrun by a numerically superior Chinese communist force. ![]() ![]() During the Korean War, several incidents occurred which called attention to the small arms training provided to Air Force personnel.
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