The Center for Security Forces took part in a ribbon cutting ceremony that signified the reopening of the outdoor Rodriguez range to crew-served weapons training at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Oct. 14.

"The need for crew-served weapon ranges to qualify and make our gunners proficient on the weapons they have is a Fleet issue," said CENSECFOR Commanding Officer, Capt. Raymond Benedict. "I have been a huge advocate for this project since the beginning and this range will be a great asset to both CENSECFOR and the Fleet."

Benedict also noted that the new range would save about $80K per year in transportation costs. Students currently travel from southeast Virginia to other distant installations where crew-served weapon ranges are available. One example is the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia, which is about 400-miles round trip.

JEBLCFS Commanding Officer, Capt. Frank Hughlett, said, "The days of large military budgets and the execution of unilateral projects is a thing of the past. Working smarter, not harder and partnering among commands where the missions come together is a smart way of doing business and the way of the future."

The range supported crew served weapons live fire up until the mid-1990s when the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was expanded. Construction of the new bridge span impinged the safety perimeter required for 7.62mm ammunition and thus, use of the range has since been limited to small arms live fire.

By using short-range training ammunition (SRTA), the range can be recertified to support crew served weapons live fire training. SRTA has a frangible projectile that disintegrates into harmless fragments upon impact. Combined with its limited range, it serves as an ideal solution for crew served weapons training.

"We have been working on using SRTA for machine gun training since 2007," said Daniel Jasper, CENSECFOR's material and logistics readiness manager. "Ideally, we were looking to build the range at Naval Support Activity Northwest Annex, but certain obstacles turned our attention to the outdoor Rodriguez range at JEBLCFS."

The total cost to renovate Rodriguez range neared $1M and took about one-year to complete, according to Jasper. He also shared that a verbal agreement currently exists between JEBLCFS and CENSECFOR that will allow CENSECFOR training to have priority use of the range. In the coming months, a formal agreement between the two commands will be drawn up and signed by their respective commanding officers.

"Since we only have about 10 or 15 days per year where we will need the range, it will be available for the rest of the Navy to use," said Jasper. "The immediate savings for CENSECFOR is the $80K we spend in student transportation per year. The intangible cost savings is tied to the logistic burden and associated risks of moving weapons and students over long distances."

Jasper also pointed out that JEBLCFS will incur additional cost savings with SRTA also being a lead-free round with less maintenance requirements and less impact to the environment.

Asked what message he would like to share with the Fleet, Jasper said, "For the potential Navy end-user of the SRTA, keep an open mind and look at the capabilities and limitations of the round. There are limitations such as not being able to engage area targets beyond 150 yards, but for basic watchstander qualifications, we are confident it meets the requirement."

The range is expected to open in January 2016.

The Center for Security Forces provides specialized training to more than 28,000 students each year. It has 14 training locations across the United States and around the world where training breeds confidence.

For more information about Center for Security Forces, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/csf.

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