NORTH ANSON -- In January, 150 members of the Maine Army National Guard will deploy to Afghanistan. It is possible that, one day on patrol, they will discover a hoard of opponents' foreign weapons. And because of the training they received from a North Anson civilian, they will know how to unload and disassemble them.

Andy Williams, dairy farmer and machine-gun dealer, traveled to Brewer this past Wednesday and Thursday to teach members of the Bravo Company, 3rd of the 172nd Infantry, Mountain Division, how to assemble and disassemble foreign weapons. The infantry unit, which is composed primarily of Maine residents and several local men, will leave the state Monday for more training, before deployment in January.

Williams' shooting range, called Williams Machine Gun Range LLC, is located in the middle of his dairy farm on a 1,500-acre parcel off Route 201A. Surrounded by cornfields and woods, it is the only machine gun range in the state, he said.

Williams lends his facilities to law-enforcement personnel, the military and interested people for training. He has a 100-yard rifle range, a 30-yard pistol range and a six-room shoothouse. And, when the military asks him to leave his farm and range to train troops, he said he is happy to oblige.

Xe Services LLC, the private military company formerly known as Blackwater, offers similar training, he said.

"I'm doing the same thing, but on a smaller scale," he said. "I can do it in Maine, for a third of the cost. I've got the only machine-gun range in the state of Maine. I'm in a position where I own the guns, and I own the gun range. Not a lot of people that sell guns also have a range. It's a combination of things that make it a unique situation."

At the Brewer Armory, Williams, with volunteer Doug Wood, of Farmington, taught 124 members of the 150-person infantry unit how to handle foreign weapons, such as AK-47's, AK-74's, RPK's, Dragunov SVD Sniper Rifles, RPD's and PK machine guns. Soldiers may encounter these guns in Afghanistan, he explained, saying that he only teaches his class to troops who will see combat.

"A lot of them had never touched an AK-47 before," he said.

"They're young men, and they have a rough road ahead of them," he said. "I wish the captain good luck; I hope he completes his mission safely and that he brings them back alive."

Williams joined the military in 1985 when he was 18 years old. As a unit armorer with the infantry, he said he gained extensive experience with weapons.

"This is kind of close to my heart. I can feel for those guys," he said.

His shoothouse is open to law-enforcement personnel for free, he said. The shoothouse is a mock house, complete with furniture, walls and doors, where officers fire on targets in a simulated environment.

"I'll let law enforcement shoot there for free, because I want to support the local law enforcement and the local military as much as I can," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, there's a certain amount of courage it takes to be a soldier or a police officer."

The machine-gun fire at his range does not disturb his cows, he said. They produce enough milk to make Williams Farm the second largest producer for Oakhurst Dairy. Sometimes, though, the shooting might bother his neighbors.

"I'd like my neighbors to know I'm sorry for any noise that might occur," he said. "But if I'm training law enforcement for free, or military for a reduced price, hopefully they'll understand."

Williams has been training troops since 2007.

Every September, Air Force guards from Bangor come to his range for training.

He is a certified National Rifle Association range-safety officer, and he has NRA insurance on the range, he said.

If people want to learn more about gun-safety classes or using the ranges, contact Williams at 660-5447.

Erin Rhoda -- 474-9534

erhoda@mainetoday.com