Maintenance project ensures safety at firing range Published Oct. 8, 2014 By Senior Airman Joshua Eikren 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- A maintenance project at the combat arms range facility was completed Sept. 26 making improvements to keep people safe on the range. The improvements replaced baffles that had been worn down from firing impact and were a safety violation. The baffles are an important piece of the range that mitigates the risk of ricochets. "Periodically, these baffles need to be resurfaced due to repeated impacts from stray rounds and deterioration from the outdoor elements," said Staff Sgt. Garrett Nale, 375th Security Forces Squadron Combat Arms NCOIC. According to Nale, with the improvements in building materials used, it appears the frequency of replacement should be reduced. "The material used to resurface the baffles was marine grade plywood and this will hopefully reduce the weather effects and prolong the life of the material," said Nale. The range maintenance, in coordination with the 375th Civil Engineer Squadron, started Sept. 15 with a projected completion date of Oct. 10, but it was finished two weeks ahead of schedule. "Because CE helped complete this project ahead of schedule, it prevented the range from needing to transport servicemembers to Ft. Leonard Wood or Ft. Campbell," Master Sgt. Gary Bubar, 375th SFS Logistics Superintendent, said. This type of range maintenance is paramount to ensuring compliance with Air Force range safety standards, and also saved the Air Force money from contracting out to a local range. Nale added, "Our long term goal is to build a new firing range, but until this can happen we will maintain and continue to improve our facility. This will ensure we are able to provide the best quality in weapons training, overall, providing showcase training that 'enables rapid global mobility.'" For questions concerning the range, call 256-5995.