161 ARW ADM Airmen – elite in the unit and elite in the ANG
Chief Master Sgt. Emilio Rodriguez, Senior Airman Kyle Drzewiecki, and Staff Sgt. Robert Ehle, 161st Security Forces Squadron Advanced Designated Marksmen, hone their newly acquired skills at the shooting range in Florence, Ariz., Jan. 9, 2015. ADM Airmen, or “snipers”, deliver long-range direct fire out to 600 meters and provide enhanced situational awareness through observation and reporting in peacetime and contingency operations. The 161st Security Forces Squadron is one of only eight units of the more than 100 Air National Guard units which currently have trained/qualified advanced designated marksmen. To become a certified Air Force advanced designated marksman, Airmen must attend the ADM course at Ft. Bliss, El Paso, Texas. The 11-day course familiarizes Airmen with the M24 weapon system and teaches target detection, along with distance and windage estimation. The new ADM graduates said they are grateful for the invaluable time and knowledge of Chief Rodriguez, ADM trainer, who has nearly 35 years of both military and civilian experience, from being a Marine Corps scout sniper and an Army Special Forces sniper to running the Pittsburg SWAT team. “You can never know enough and you can never get enough training,” said Ehle. “We will never know as much as [Rodriguez] has forgotten.” (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Courtney Enos/Released)