MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz. -- The Marine Corps works hard to hold true to the statement, “Every Marine a rifleman.” This means every Marine, if necessary, is able to take an active role in combat, closing with and engaging the enemy with whatever weapon they have at their disposal. Behind the scenes, the Marines at the armory on Marine Corps Air Station Yuma are responsible for the safekeeping, maintenance, issue and recovery of weapons assigned to the facility.
The armorers work with primarily the M-16A2 service rifle, the standard weapon all Marines are trained to fire during recruit training and officer candidate school, and the staple of the Marine Corps arsenal. Their expertise doesn’t stop there, though, as they are also responsible for the repair of the M-9 pistol and the M-1014 shotgun.
Caring for the equipment is a time-consuming job, requiring a limited technical inspection of every weapon in their care every month, with a pre-firing inspection before each weapon is taken to the range.
The LTI is composed of a general inspection of the weapon, inside and out, ensuring that none of the parts are too badly worn or damaged, which would not only cause problems with the weapon firing, but also with the safety of the weapon.
“If someone tried to fire (a damaged weapon), they would have a bad day,” said Pfc. Ruben Yanez, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron armorer and native of San Jose, Calif. “A very bad day.”
Whenever a discrepancy is found with a weapon a note is made of it and the part is replaced, with a few exceptions.
“We can’t repair any of the trigger assembly,” said Pfc. Elyse Schatz, H&HS armorer. “We have to send those (weapons) to Quantico, (Va.), to be fixed.”
The weapons are then tested to make sure that specifications such as the amount of pressure required to pull back the trigger are within the set limits. If a weapon didn’t pass those tests, then the armorers would have to try and find the problem and take steps to correct it, said Lance Cpl. Jennifer L. Harling, a native of Granby, Mo.
The military occupational specialty school to become an armorer is nine weeks long, and covers the majority of individual and crew-served weapons used by the Marine Corps, with the exception of some specialty weapons, such as sniper rifles, said Harling.
“They cover weapons from the nine (millimeter) to machine guns and mortars, and at the end we do a class for eight days on weapons that only the Marine Corps has, such as the M-1014 shotgun,” said Schatz, a native of Zenda, Wis.
The school does a good job of preparing Marines for actual armory duty, said Schatz.
The station armory keeps every piece of equipment accounted for, from something as important as a rifle, to each screwdriver and key, with each Marine responsible for a certain area, said Harling.
The armorers make sure that if need be, any Marine in the armory can take on other duties by training on each other’s jobs during weapons qualifications, when an armorer is required to go to the range to account for each weapon and make minor site repairs, if need be.
A Marine’s life can depend on their skill or physical ability in combat, but just like their body and mind, a Marine’s weapon needs to be properly maintained in order to ensure mission accomplishment.