MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz. -- Permanent marksmanship training unit personnel and Marines spending a week on the rifle range for mandatory training will be able to complete their mission in a safer environment.
Swapping rusty tin and particleboard for concrete and bullet-resistant glass, the sound shed and the target sheds at the range training facility's known-distance rifle range are now built to better protect the safety of the Marines working there.
"We're not gaining anything in size, but we are gaining safety," said Gunnery Sgt. Robert L. Warmbir, MTU staff non-commissioned officer in charge. "This will handle a direct hit."
Indeed, the structures could be hit by almost anything listed in a catalogue of small arms, according to the men who worked on the building renovations. The windows alone can withstand a barrage from a .50 -aliber weapon.
Aside from safety, the new buildings will improve the appearance of the target area of the range.
"It's going to look a lot nicer and cleaner," Warmbir said. "It will also be more efficient and organized back here, and the targets will be able to be stored more ergonomically correct."
The project, which has been planned for a few years, according to Warmbir, actually started in November after all the contract details were hammered out. Since then the progress has been rapid in the eyes of the contractors.
"We're way ahead of schedule," said Alberto Chamberlain, director of operations for Goldstein and Luera Construction, the contracting firm out of Phoenix. "We were due to be finished by March 15, but based on the results of core samples we take (of the sturdiness of the cement) we should be done (today). Then we'll just have to add the little details, like putting up shelving and reconnecting electrical components, and we should be out of here within two weeks."
According to Jim Rowland, project manager for the MTU renovations and an engineering technician with station facilities, the amount of cement needed to complete the project is about 28 cubic yards. At 3,800 pounds per cubic yard, that adds up to more than 53 tons of cement. Each roof will weigh more than 40,000 pounds alone, when the weight of the rebar (metal beams molded into the concrete forms) is added.
"It's going real well. It will look nice once it's all together," Rowland said.
Warmbir said he observed the workers perform their jobs safely, and that they considered the safety of his Marines when they were building the new sheds.
"My only concern is that they do a good job and clean up after themselves," Warmbir said.
Once the edifices are complete, Warmbir said he and the MTU staff hope to be able to start ranges as soon as possible, but recent deployments and other factors have given him a new staff to work with.
"The first range detail (after the completion of the buildings) is going to be interesting," said Warmbir. "We'll have a rookie crew working, who still needs to be trained up to speed after the other, more experienced Marines deployed."
Still, Warmbir anticipates a better environment for the MTU personnel to work and a better place for Marines training on the rifle range to work to support the training mission. Above all, working on the range should be safer, according to Warmbir.