Joint service military personnel from U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) had the opportunity to fire non-lethal weapons (NLW) at the MacDill Air force Base (AFB) firing range during a familiarization event (FAMFIRE), January 18, 2018.
The Department of Defense defines non-lethal weapons as weapons, devices and munitions that are explicitly designed and primarily employed to immediately suppress or disable targeted personnel or material, while minimizing fatalities, permanent injury to personnel, and undesired damage to property in the target area or environment.
“Units deploying to the USCENTCOM area of responsibility (AOR) are required to have sufficient numbers of personnel trained on NLW capabilities,” said Mr. Richard Bartis, USCENTCOM NLW program liaison.
During the FAMFIRE, participants had the opportunity to toss flashbang and stingball grenades, and fire non-lethal munitions from 12-gauge shotguns, 40mm grenade launchers and compressed air guns. The munitions are designed to suppress and warn.