VICENZA, Italy - A certification team of the Italian Army Infrastructure Headquarters based in Rome visited the Caserma Ederle's indoor firing range Feb. 4-5 to review the newly-improved facility and approve its use by the end of the month.
"Our firing range was last certified in 2009 and the certification is valid for three years. For three years we trained in the range, however, over that time regulations changed because of new technologies and experiences in other ranges," said Jim Matheson, chief of the Regional Training Support Division for U.S. Army South of the Alps.
"When the Italian inspectors came back in 2012, the range no longer met the current requirements, so over the last year we had to do major construction worth approximately 240,000 Euro to upgrade the building with all new specifications mandated by Italian law," Matheson said.
All U.S. military construction projects in Italy require Italian input and approval before they are built or licensed for use. To this purpose, Matheson sad that the U.S. Army hired a contractor that carried out all the required adjustments needed to make the range a safe place for the Soldiers to train here at Ederle.
The main challenge was the age of the building and its wiring, according to Jim Sweatman, sustainable range program manager for RTSD.
"We had to do new electric systems, new walls, new floor, new ventilation system, new locked doors with alarm systems, install gas detectors and significant upgrades for the bullet trap in the back wall," he said.
Learning a lot about thickness and hardness of ballistic steel and the scope of protective padding made with nonflammable and soundproof material in line with new specifications, the RTSD team had to make sure the range was ready to pass a series of preliminary reviews prior to the final inspection by the Italian Army certifying team.
Upon completion of the upgrade works in summer, the Italian regulating team in charge of ranges, the so-called Banco di Prova from Brescia, arrived in fall to do a ballistic test of the facility.
"They checked how the bullets bounce when you shoot, where they go and how the back trap is well equipped to catch rounds," Matheson said.
Then an environmental assessment followed, focusing especially on air quality inside the building and noise levels outside.
"Every time you fire a bullet, you create a hazard. You have lead dust, you have unburned propellants, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, among other things" said Matheson. "One way we keep Soldiers safe while shooting is to have a constant flow of air from behind toward the bullet trap, while detectors monitor the levels of hazardous gases."
While simulating routine range use, sound meters were also put on the roof top to check noise disturbance was within permissible levels.
With the all the preliminary checks in order, in January the Ederle range received the green light from the Italian Army for the final certifying inspection. Members of the commission who arrived to Ederle were Col. Alfonso Coscia, lead team and chief of Studies and Regulations office, Lt. Col. Giancarlo Capodarca, chief of the ranges division, Architect Fabrizio Giacobbi, responsible of work safety and environmental law, and Lt. Col. Francesco Lobuono, ballistic expert from the Infrastructure Headquarters based in Bari.
During the two-day inspection, the team reviewed the structural condition of the building, the quality of the materials used, especially for the protective padding in the walls and on the floor as well as electric systems, air distribution, fire alarms and gas detectors. A ballistic test was part of the final check to study bullets trajectories, their impact and penetration potential at different distances.
"I was very impressed with the quality of the upgrades performed here since my last visit," said Coscia. "They hired a very scrupulous and conscientious contractor and those two qualities are key to ensure a range facility is state of the art."
"Ranges built with the latest technical guidelines are very safe. That safety, however, is ensured only at the condition that small arms in use are the appropriate ones with the right ammunitions and that shooting activities are carried out with respect of the rules listed in the technical guide approved by the certifying team," said Giacobbi. He added that users' rules include special precautions for female shooters of child-bearing age.
Once the certification is renewed and the range is ready for use, "maintenance is the most important condition to continue its operation in the same initial efficiency of all its parts and components," said Coscia. He stressed how imperative will be the care with which the range operators and their contracted firm perform daily cleanups before and after shooting sessions. Same for the extraordinary maintenance required every two weeks and six months. "A proper use and cleaning requirements will help ensure the safety and health of service members who train at Ederle," Coscia said.
"We are all very excited because very soon we will have four lanes here where we can support training here 24/7," Sweatman said. Once the range is approved for use, "our Soldiers stationed at Ederle can conveniently walk from their arms room to the range without needing the Carabinieri escort to the other range at Caserma Del Din where they kept proficient 'til now," he said. "The other good thing is that range is near the jump tower and the other training support facilities. That makes things much easier for everybody," said Sweatman.
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