SPORTS plays vital role in ability to survive and operate

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Patrick Cabellon
  • 452 AMW Public Affairs
MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIF. --  Acronyms are to the military as words are to Webster. But, one in particular deserves your attention as the ability to remember it and use it when needed, may save your life or the life of a brother- or sister-in-arms.

Imagine you are in a heated firefight when your weapon jams - now what?

Remember SPORTS, an acronym used to remind Airmen of a quick checklist to run if their weapon will not fire. Should this happen, you must be able to take immediate action without a second thought. Learning, remembering and practicing SPORTS maintains your readiness in such a case.

S - Slap upward on the bottom of the magazine to ensure it is fully seated.

P - Pull the charging handle to the rear.

O - Observe the chamber for an ejection of the round and to make sure the chamber and receiver area are clear. (If not clear proceed to remedial action)

R - Release the charging handle.

T - Tap on the forward assist button.

S - SHOOT!

There are several reason that your weapon may not fire. This is called stoppage and includes shells failing to eject, when a round does not fully clear the ejection port; failure to extract, when the casing is not extracted out of the chamber; or failure to feed, when a round does not properly feed into the chamber from the magazine, which usually arises when the magazine is not seated correctly into the weapon.

"Failure to eject is the most common type of stoppage," said Staff Sgt. Randy Bowen, an armorer with the 452nd Security Forces Squadron. "Failure to extract generally occurs when the weapon is dirty."

Bowen reminds Airmen to never stick their finger into the chamber to clear the round. SPORTS can quickly restore your weapon back to working order from any of these three failures.

In addition, regular weapons maintenance and cleaning will keep your weapon in tip-top shape.

"I believe not cleaning a weapon contributes to 80 percent of weapon failures," said Bowen. "Clean any moving parts well with cleaner, lubricant, and preservative, known as CLP."

Always remember to do a function check when the weapon has been cleaned and put back together. For more information on SPORTS and weapon's safety, refer to your Airman's Manual, AFPAM 10-100, Section 4, Fight.

(Material was referenced from the Airman's Manual for this story)