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ECRC Holds First Weapons Qualification

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080416-07
Release Date: 4/16/2008 12:27:00 PM

By Chief Mass Communication Specialist (SW/AW) Gwen A. Truett, Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center Public Affairs

NORFOLK (NNS) -- Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center (ECRC) held its first command weapons qualification at Rodriguez Indoor Range, Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, April 14. Qualification on the M-11 SIG pistol marked the start of a command initiative to have all ECRC personnel small arms qualified.

ECRC provides supervision of the effective processing, equipping and training of Navy individual augmentees (IA).

"I wanted to provide an opportunity for the crew to increase individual combat readiness and allow our CONUS support staff a chance to better identify with the training undertaken by every IA headed out in support of the GWOT," said Capt. Jeff McKenzie, commanding officer ECRC.

"The M-11 qualifications we held today are the first step in our goal to eventually have everyone at ECRC qualify on the pistol and on the M-4 rifle", said Chief Gunner's Mate (SW) Barry Cramer. "We are working toward having our own stand alone program including a mobile armory. This program will allow us to deploy personnel faster if they need to go into Kuwait or into any area that we could potentially be sent to."

"The first step in getting a weapon qualification is completing the weapons courses on Navy Knowledge Online (NKO)," said Boatswain's Mate 1st Class (SW) Nikita Bibbs, ECRC training petty officer. "You must score 100 percent on the weapons courses in order to pass. All ECRC personnel are required to complete the same courses that individual augmentees are required to complete, including the weapons qualifications."

In addition to tracking the qualifications of personnel at ECRC headquarters, Bibbs also maintains the qualifications of personnel stationed as Navy liaison officers in support of IAs at 13 Army training sites located throughout the United States. The new weapons qualification initiative will include those ECRC personnel stationed at the training sites as well.

In concert with the actual weapons qualifications, some ECRC personnel were trained to act as line coaches and to help other members of the command achieve their qualifications. Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (FMF/SW/AW) Monica Florence was among the first non gunner's mate to qualify as a line coach and to achieve her gun qualifications.

"We are going to keep this program tracking," said Cramer. "We have our small arms training program written, an ammunition account set up, weapons ordered and training held." All that is left now is to qualify and from what I've seen today, our ECRC personnel are right on target with that."

ECRC is part of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, a global-force provider of adaptive force packages of expeditionary capabilities to joint warfighting commanders. NECC serves as a single manning functional command to centrally manage the current and future readiness, resources, manning, training and equipping of the Navy expeditionary force.

For more news from Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/necc/.