MCC Delivers Firearms Training to Special Team of Soldiers
Published on Monday, June 14th, 2021
Montgomery Community College welcomed a special guest to campus in June, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Reummler from the Fort Bragg Army Base. A friend of MCC Gunsmithing Instructor Matthew R. Mutarelli, Reummler was onsite to present certificates of appreciation to both Mutarelli and gunsmithing student Lew Jones. The two MCC representatives developed and taught a customized firearms training class for seven students under Reummler’s command: a cohort of U.S. Army nurse anesthetists!
A nurse anesthetist is an advanced-practice nurse who administers anesthesia for surgery or other medical procedures. The U.S. Army recruits, train and employs hundreds of these soldiers for deployment in time of war, civil disorder, natural disaster or for humanitarian missions.
“Lieutenant Colonel Reummler’s students obviously receive intensive training in emergency rooms and operating rooms across the country where trauma is common,” explains Mutarelli, “But they don’t really get a lot of firearms training. When he asked me to come up with a weapons training session for these captains and majors on the frontlines of healthcare, we were thrilled to do it.”
Mutarelli selected recent gunsmithing program graduate Lew Jones to assist him in the creation and delivery of the class. The pistol-oriented training was valuable and enjoyable for students and teachers alike. “The students were pleased to be getting out of their clinical environments to the great outdoors,” said student Lew Jones. “While they are all healthcare workers, they are soldiers first, and it was obvious they appreciated the opportunity to get hands-on again with some weapons training.”
The full-day class convened at Moore County Wildlife Conservation Club in Southern Pines, where they practiced with handguns and .22 rimfire pistols as well. Mutarelli is a retired non-commissioned officer with the U.S Army. He has served as an instructor at MCC since 2012. Lew Jones is a recent graduate of the MCC Gunsmithing Program, a student ambassador and the College’s nominee for the statewide Dallas Herring Achievement Award.