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AFTE Online
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Scholarship Program |
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AFTE awards $2000 annually
to qualified students seeking a career in Forensic Science.
To find out more about the Scholarship Program.
Click here.
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Certification |
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qualified members Certification testing in the area of
Firearms, Toolmarks, and GSR/Muzzle Distance. To learn
more about this program
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SWGGUN |
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The
Scientific Working Group for Firearms and Toolmarks
(SWGGUN) can now be found at
www.swggun.org
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Welcome
to the official website of the Association of Firearm and
Tool Mark Examiners. "AFTE" is an international
organization dedicated to the advancement of one of the finest
disciplines of Forensic Science......Firearm & Toolmark
Identification.
[News Archives]
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The Spring 2012 issue of the AFTE
Journal has been posted on the website. Click
here
to view it.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The AFTE Written Certification
Test is Going On-Line!
Applications must be received by COB May 11, 2012 for the
On-Line AFTE Certification Test (Written)
The due date is fast approaching for the first on-line AFTE
Certification Tests. The “open season” for taking the tests
is May 21 to June 1 for qualified applicants and their
designated proctors.
The application process is basically the same; fill out the
application form describing which tests you want to take
(form link on the Certification Program page), pay the fees
with PayPal, or send a check with the application forms. You
can mail the hard copy and check to the Chairman’s mailing
address. The change is that a designated proctor and his/her
contact information MUST be named in the application
information. (Members that have already applied need not
reapply.)
The approximate 2 week “open season” allows the applicant
and proctor convenience in scheduling the test. Further
instructions and forms requirements will be sent to the
applicant and proctor.
If you are not able to take the upcoming test offering, you
can still apply to take tests in the next two open seasons
that are planned for August 20-31, and October 22-November
2. Make sure you indicate this in your application.
Robert M. Thompson, AFTE Certification Programs Chairman
Thursday, April 26, 2012
AFTE 2012
As of April 26, 2012 the Hyatt is
sold out for the days of our conference. Please read below for info on
the overflow hotel.
Overflow Hotel
Comfort Suites Downtown
Buffalo
601 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14203
716-854-5500
www.comfortsuites.com/hotel-buffalo-new_york-NY200
Please let them know you are
with AFTE when you call to make reservations.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Measurement Science and Standards
in Forensic Firearms Analysis 2012
The National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST) in collaboration with The
Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners (AFTE) and
the Scientific Working Group for Firearms and Toolmarks (SWGGUN)
is hosting a two-day conference exploring measurement
science and standards in the forensic discipline of firearms
analysis.
Click
here to open their website containing further
information.
Monday, March 26, 2012
AFTE 2012
If you have a child 12 and under and
would like for them to attend the banquet, please contact
Jennifer Coombs.
Friday, March 23, 2012
The Spring 2012 issue of the AFTE
News has been posted on the website. Click
here to view it.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Message from the President
I am
honored to announce that after consultation with both the
Member of the Year Committee and the Howe family, the Board
of Directors unanimously has agreed to the following
proposal;
Proposal to Rename the Member of the Year Award to the
Walter J. Howe Award
The purpose of the following is to rename the Member of the
Year Award to the Walter J. Howe Award. Mr. Howe served his
country with honor and distinction during World War II,
during which he was the Chief Armament Inspector at the Army
Ordnance Office in Fort Dix, New Jersey. After the war, Mr.
Howe worked for several publishing companies before taking
the position of Director of Research and Development at
Marlin Firearms Company in North Haven, CT. While touring
the facility, U.S. Army Major General Julian Hatcher
proposed that Mr. Howe join the National Rifle Association
(NRA) in Washington, DC. When the NRA brought Mr. Howe to
Washington, they were looking for an individual with not
only an extensive knowledge of firearms, but also an
individual with vision and drive to provide both advice and
guidance on the future direction of their organization. Mr.
Howe more than satisfied all of these requirements. Mr. Howe
became the Editor of the American Rifleman magazine in 1953,
a post he retained until 1966. While with the magazine, Mr.
Howe published articles by Jack Weller (of Hatcher, Jury,
and Weller fame) on the fundamentals of forensic firearm
identification. This was done to increase the awareness and
raise the level of knowledge and was a first for a magazine
whose readers were typically devoted to hunting and
shooting.
In the early 1960s, he became a member, and then a Fellow,
of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS). Because
of the increasing size and the number of disciplines in the
AAFS, Mr. Howe recognized the need for a group exclusively
for firearm and tool mark examination. Thirty-five men met
in Chicago, IL, back in 1969 to form the Association of
Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners (AFTE). Mr. Howe was
selected to be the first president of the association. In
addition to being president, Mr. Howe became the editor of
the AFTE Newsletter. His focus was to promote the exchange
of information to raise the level of professionalism within
the discipline. It is still what AFTE strives to achieve.
Certainly the argument can be made that without Mr. Howe
AFTE would not exist and it would not be the type of
organization it is today. To many members, Mr. Howe was so
much more than the first President of AFTE. He was also a
mentor, an advisor, and most importantly, a role model. Mr.
Howe served as an example to all of us of the things we
could be capable of if only we worked hard enough and never
compromised our standards or integrity. The current Member
of the Year Committee Chair and its members have unanimously
and wholeheartedly agreed that this prestigious award’s name
should be changed. Since the purpose of this annual award is
to recognize individuals who have assisted AFTE in an
outstanding manner, it is all together fitting that this
award be named the Walter J. Howe Award.
Very Respectfully Submitted
Dan B. Gunnell
43rd AFTE President
Monday, March 12, 2012
The application period for admission
to the 2012-2013 session of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives (ATF) National Firearms Examiner
Academy (NFEA) is open to all qualified candidates.
The NFEA provides training for
apprentice/entry level firearm and toolmark examiners from
Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The
Academy curriculum is composed of the fundamentals of
firearms & toolmark examinations and serves as a basis for
the trainee, under supervision, to develop into a qualified
firearm and toolmark examiner. The application deadline for
the 2012 - 2013 session of the NFEA is July 31, 2012. The
start date for training is dependent on receipt of funding
and the schedule may be adjusted accordingly. It is
anticipated that the class would start in October 2012.
Additional information and the
application form are available below.
2012-2013 NFEA
Information
2012-2013
NFEA Overview
2012-2013
NFEA Application
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
AFTE 2012
In lieu
of a formal golf tourney this year, I am offering those
interested in getting out and enjoying the day the
opportunity to play a round of golf at one of the local
courses.
If you
are interested, please email me at
afte2012reg@gmail.com.
Mark
Shaw
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
AFTE 2012
AFTE On-Line Certification Test Update and Information
The AFTE Certification Programs Committee has been hard at
work this last year updating the written test, and preparing
for an on-line version. The final preparations for the
installation of the on-line test is planned to be completed
in the next few months, hopefully on or before the next AFTE
Training Conference in Buffalo, New York. Therefore, there
will not be written tests traditionally offered the Sunday
prior to the conference. We are certain that offering these
tests on-line will benefit those members who cannot attend
the AFTE Training Conferences regularly, and offer a more
convenient way to begin or expand on their certification.
It is planned that the application process and cost will
remain unchanged, so if you are still contemplating taking
the test, please submit your applications as currently
detailed on the AFTE Certification web pages.
When the test installation is complete, more information,
details, and instructions will be announced.
Robert M. Thompson, Chair-Certification Programs
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
AFTE 2012
Registration for the
2012 AFTE Annual Training Seminar is now open!
Attendees can register
by clicking
here.
Exhibitors can
register by clicking
here.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
AFTE 2012
The initial listing of Workshops for
the 2012 Annual Training Seminar have been added to the
Seminar webpage. Click
here to see what training opportunities are
available at this year's meeting. Check back regularly
for additional workshops.
Registration will open on February
15, 2012!!!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Chris Monturo, with the support of
the AFTE Sickness & Distress Committee as well as the 2012
AFTE Training Seminar Host Committee has graciously donated
5 AR-15 lowers to benefit the Kelsi Crutchfield Scholarship
Fund to be raffled off at the 2012 meeting in Buffalo.
Click
here for more information and to purchase your
tickets.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The Winter 2012 issue of the AFTE
Journal has been posted on the website. Click
here
to view it.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
AFTE 2012 - Attention
International Members
For those international members that
require a letter of invitation in order to receive a Visa,
we now have a link set up to email Mark Shaw (2012
Registration). Once he receives your email, he will
get one to you as soon as possible. Click
here to be redirected to our letter of invitation
page.
Friday, October 28, 2011
The Fall 2011 issue of the AFTE
Journal has been posted on the website. Click
here to view it.
Hard copies of the Journal should be reaching your desk in
the next 2-3 weeks.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
A Message from AFTE
President Dan Gunnell:
Fellow AFTE Members,
It is with great regret that I have accepted Scott Doyle's
resignation from his position as Member at Large to the
Board of Directors. Scott has expressed concern that, with
all of his other obligations, he did not feel he could
continue to devote the time necessary to properly execute
the duties required of him within the Association. Scott has
been an invaluable asset and truly contributed to make AFTE
a better organization. Even with Scott's decision to leave
the Board, he placed the best interests of the Association
first. It has been an honor to serve with Scott and I am
sure we all wish him the best with all of his future
endeavors.
In accordance with the AFTE By-Laws, Article 6 Section 2e -
"In the event a vacancy occurs in the position of Secretary,
Membership Secretary, Treasurer, or Member at Large by
reason of death, resignation, or otherwise, the President
shall appoint a replacement who shall serve until the next
annual election. At that time, an election shall be held to
fill any remaining term.", I have appointed Ms. Kathy
Richert of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences to
fill this position. Kathy brings a wealth of knowledge and
experience to the Board. I have every confidence that she
will do an outstanding job. Please welcome Kathy to the
Board and extend whatever assistance she might require in
order to ease this difficult transition.
Dan Gunnell
43rd AFTE President
Monday, October 3, 2011
The Fall 2011 issue of the AFTE
News has been posted on the website. Click
here to view it.
Friday, August 19, 2011
**Member's Only**
The AFTE Journal Index has recently
been updated.
Thanks to the hard work of the PDF
Journal Article Separation Committee and Scott Doyle, the
AFTE Journal Index has been updated to include links to the
PDF articles for each citation. This is a work in
progress. Approximately 95% if the citations have
links to a PDF file. This feature is for member's
only.
Please take time to visit this most
valuable resource.
Charles Clow
Chair, PDF Article Separation
Committee
Friday, August 5, 2011
The technical papers presented at the
AFTE 2011 42nd Annual Training Seminar in
Chicago, IL were recorded and have been compiled into a
4-disc DVD set that is available for purchase to AFTE
members. Credit card purchases can be made on-line and mail
orders can be placed with a check or agency purchase order.
Additionally, DVDs from the 2005 through 2010 Training
Seminars are also available for purchase. Click
here
for more details.
Friday, August 5, 2011
The Summer 2011 issue of the AFTE
Journal has been posted on the website. Click
here to view it.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Are you interested in participating in an AFTE Committee?
If so, e-mail your contact information, as well as any
specific interests and/or specialized skills to
Brandon Giroux.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Below is the SWGGUN and AFTE
Committee for the Advancement of the Science of Firearm and
Toolmark Identification’s June 14, 2011 response to the 25
foundational firearm and toolmark examination questions
received from the Subcommittee on Forensic Science (SoFS),
Research, Development, Testing, & Evaluation Interagency
Working Group (RDT&EIWG) on April 18, 2011. This response is
a compilation of published research which addresses each
question.
AFTE Response
Sunday, July 31, 2011
**Member's Only**
The
2010 AFTE Roster has been posted in the Member's
Only section of the website. It is formatted so that
members can download it and update their pad folio version.
Monday, June 20, 2011
MESSAGE FROM THE AFTE BOD:
It is always a sad event when a
member of our AFTE family passes away; however, the recent
unexpected loss of our sister Laurie Crutchfield from Orange
County is particularly tragic (more information is available
on the
Sickness and Distress Forum). Laurie’s family has
set up an account to help with Laurie’s young daughter
Kelci’s education. The Board of Directors is asking for your
help in assisting to provide Kelci the type of education
that you would want for your own child. The webmaster has
set up a Paypal link to the Kelci Anne Crutchfield Memorial
College Fund. On numerous occasions Laurie’s smile
brightened an otherwise dismal day. It is hoped that we can,
in some small way, help make Kelci’s future a bit brighter.
Please give from your heart.
Monday, June 6, 2011
AFTE 2011
The summary pages of the 2011 AFTE
Training Seminar in Chicago, IL can be found by clicking
here. More pictures will be added as they are
received.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
AFTE 2011
**ATTENTION**
REGISTRATION FOR
AFTE 2011 WILL CLOSE AT NOON (CST) ON FRIDAY, MAY 27th.
ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO REGISTRATION MUST BE MADE BY
CONTACTING JEN CONES AT AFTE.SEMINAR@GMAIL.COM. THANK YOU.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
AFTE 2011
**ATTENTION**
AFTE 2011 Friends and Family
Program Update
Due to a lack of
interest, a couple of the F&F Program events have been
canceled.
The Chicago Botanical
Gardens (1 registrant)
The Ghost Tour (6
registrants
Individuals that have
prepaid for the above events will be refunded their
registration money.
The Chicago by the
River event will take place as schedule (Tuesday, May 31)
Monday, May 16, 2011
The Spring 2011 issue of the AFTE
Journal has been posted on the website. Click
here to view it.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
It has recently come to my attention
that the online version of the AFTE Code of Ethics is
incorrect. The correct version, June 2009 has been
posted. This version corrects a number of word changes
as well as adding sections IV E, F and G. The new
version can be found
here.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
AFTE 2011
Information for the AFTE 2011 3rd
Annual Gun Run can be found by clicking
here.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
AFTE 2011
**ATTENTION**
Rooms
at the Drake Hotel have are sold out for the night of May
28th. There are 5 rooms available for each of the
following nights, May 31st and June 1st. After these
are gone, no other rooms will be available.
Garry Rathman Memorial Golf Tournament - If enough
golfers do not sign up to play in the tournament, then the
golfers that do want to participate can play this course
just to play...to have fun anyway. The course is a
challenging, championship course and the greens fees are not
unreasonable for this type caliber of a course.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
AFTE 2011
Information has been added to the
Friends and Family section. Click
here to view the events the Friends and Family
Committee has set up for your enjoyment during the day and
evening.
Registration for these events can be done by snail-mail or
online.
There is also a list of things to do
if you are interested in exploring Chicago on your own.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
AFTE 2011
Call For Posters: The Poster
Presentation for the 2011 AFTE Training Conference is
rapidly filling up. There are only a few spots left so
please contact either of the co-chairs as soon as possible.
Mark Keisler
Angela Kilmon
Friday, April 8, 2011
AFTE 2011
A Forensic Imaging and Metrology
workshop has been added. Click
here to read the
information about it.
There is a Chicago Cubs game one
evening while we are there. It is Tuesday night vs.
the Houston Astros. This is not an AFTE sponsored
event, so tickets must be purchased on your own. The
game will sell out quickly, so pick some up if you are
interested in seeing a game at Wrigley Field.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
AFTE 2011
With the 2011 AFTE Training Seminar
in Chicago fast approaching, the deadline has been set for
submitting payment for the 2011 Garry Rathman Memorial Golf
Tournament. All checks must be submitted by
May 2, 2011. For more
information regarding the tournament and location click
here.
Monday, March 21, 2011
The AFTE Grant Committee
is pleased to announce the availability of grant funding
to attend the AFTE 2011 Training Seminar in Chicago, IL for
10 individuals who’s laboratories have not been able to
provide funding or the individual has not been able to
attend an AFTE meeting due to lack of funds in the last 3
years. Click
here to view the announcement and download the grant
application.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
From the AFTE Editor
A corrected version of the
March 2011 edition of the AFTE
News has been uploaded to the Member's Area. Minor
changes were made to the Bylaws Committee Report. The
proposed modifications to the Bylaws are now identified in
bold font.
Click
here
to view it.
My apologies for the inconvenience.
Charles Clow
AFTE Editor
Thursday, March 17, 2011
AFTE 2011
Information about the 2011 AFTE Written
Certification Tests can be found by clicking
here.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
**ATTENTION**
Due to unforeseen circumstances, hotel rooms for Friday,
June 3rd, are sold out at both the conference hotel (The
Drake) and the overflow hotel. It is recommended that
attendees visit
hotels.com or
priceline.com to
find affordable lodging within a short distance of The Drake
hotel.
In addition, attendees are urged to
make their reservations for the other nights of the
conference (Sunday - Thursday) quickly.
Monday, February 14, 2011
The Winter 2011 issue of the AFTE
Journal has been posted on the website. Click
here to view it.
Monday, January 31, 2011
New workshops have been added to the
2011 AFTE Seminar Page!! Click
here to see what is available and check back often
to see others as they are added.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Call for Posters!!!
Back by popular
demand! AFTE 2011, Chicago, will once again be hosting
an after-hours poster presentation. This years’ presentation
will be on Wednesday night from 7-9. If you wish to present
a poster at the conference please contact either co-chair
listed below. Space is limited so sign up early.
Mark Keisler
Angela Kilmon
Monday, January 24, 2011
Per the AFTE Board of Directors:
A number of issues concerning the
AFTE Glossary have been brought to our attention.
Until such time as these issues can be remedied, the on-line
version of the AFTE Glossary will be taken off-line. The
Training and Standardization Committee is working diligently
to correct this problem.
Monday, January 10, 2011
**ATTENTION**
A glitch with the payment system in
the shopping cart has led to it being shut down temporarily
until a solution can be found. Payments can still be
made through PayPal by clicking
here. Sorry for
the inconvenience this may have caused.
Friday,
January 7, 2011
Registration for the 2011 AFTE Annual
Training Seminar is now open. For a mail-in
registration for click
here. To register online click
here.
Saturday,
January 1, 2011
**ATTENTION**
The Terms of Use
Agreement (TOU) for the AFTE Forum has been updated by the
AFTE Board of Directors. The update is in effect as of
12:00AM MST on 1/1/11. Upon logging into the Forum for
the first time since the update, you will be required to
read the new TOU. By clicking the check box at the
bottom of the TOU you acknowledge that you have read and
agree to the terms as stated.
Saturday,
January 1, 2011
It gives me great pleasure to
announce the completion of the AFTE Journal Index in
conjunction with the AFTE Shopping Cart.
The index is searchable by:
- Name of Author
- Year
- Volume
- Word in Title
- Keyword
- Word in Abstract
The Journal Search can be found by
clicking here or
by clicking on the Journal Search sub-menu (under Journal)
in the menu to the left.
Charles Clow
AFTE Editor
To view News Archives visit the
Site News page.
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Mark Examiners (AFTE)
All rights reserved. Revised:
May 02, 2012. |
