Profession of Arms Published July 21, 2011 By Senior Airman Tiffany M. Deuel 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England -- The alarm goes off. It's time for work and time to head to the small building with a large, black door. Once there, an Airman behind the door checks the entry authorization letter, and lets him inside the building. The building is manned 24 hours a day and he is there for 12 of those hours. Accountability is everything to him and one mistake could land him in prison. He has a great responsibility to the Airmen and families of the installation. Through the protection, accountability and distribution of weapons, he holds a key role in keeping the installation safe. His job is the profession of arms. He is a 48th Security Forces Squadron armorer. Due to the immense responsibility of being an armorer, they are selected carefully by those in charge of the armory. Interested Airmen must submit their application and resume to the armory for review. "The Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of Armory and I review the packages for one week. Once we narrow our search, we pull the defender's personnel information file and review it for any derogatory paperwork," said Staff Sgt. Daniel Stites, 48th SFS assistant NCO in charge of armory. When the NCOs have made their choices they send the names to the security forces manager for a final decision. Upon being selected, the Airmen must undergo additional training until they become knowledgeable on armory regulations, all weapons and pass a written test. "Once that is complete, they are added to the entry authorization letter and are able to enter the controlled area without an escort, and start their duty as a security forces armorer," said Stites. The armory holds all weapons used for the defense of the installation as well as Airmen deploying from RAF Lakenheath. With a high deployment rate, the armory plays a crucial part in maintaining our combat capabilities. "This is the second highest deployed base in the Air Force and the highest deployed Security Forces Squadron in United States Air Forces in Europe," said Senior Airman Cody Jorsch, 48th SFS armorer. The process to become an armorer is in-depth because if the installation is threatened, they provide the tools necessary to protect it. "We provide day-to-day arming for all security forces for defense of installation and provide emergency response support during increased force protection conditions, said Tech. Sgt. Shaun Ferguson, 48th SFS Combat Arms senior instructor. What happens at the armory can be summed up with the Combat Arms motto. "Ours is the profession of arms."