Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Brad Mincey | U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Larry Smith with the 169th Maintenance Operations Flight,...... read more read more
FORT JACKSON, S.C. – Soldiers never know what situations they are going to face. And with many South Carolina National Guardsmen deployed to dangerous areas like Afghanistan, the better prepared they are to meet a variety of challenges, the more likely they are to successfully accomplish their mission.
Each year, soldiers from the S.C. Army and Air National Guard have the opportunity to get together, train and compete during the annual South Carolina National Guard Warfighter Sustainment Training Exercise, otherwise known as the TAG Marksmanship competition.
This year, competitors gathered near the Weston Lake Recreation Area, March 15-17, to shoot a wide range of weapons including the M249 squad automatic weapon, M16 rifle and M9 pistol.
“We try to simulate, as best we can, any situation that they may come in contact with during combat,” said Master Sgt. Mitch Henson, TAG Match coordinator who has headed up the South Carolina National Guard Marksmanship Training Unit since 2007. “In the real world, these are the types of things these soldiers can encounter, so that’s what we want to train and prepare them for.”
During the competition, there are six team and five individual events. Last year, there were 10 events, but a machine gun team event was added this year bringing the total to 11 events.
Although every Guardsman gets basic marksmanship training as a new recruit, this competition takes that training to a whole new level.
“We are able to give some advanced training by teaching them to move and shoot with a variety of different weapons,” said Henson. “We cover a lot of things that you don’t get in basic marksmanship.”
To ensure safety and understanding, the Guardsmen go through a Preliminary Marksmanship Instruction class, where each weapon’s function and operation is reviewed. There is also a run through of the course before each match.
In one match, the Guardsmen started off using a 12-gauge shotgun to enter a house. Then, they transitioned to the M9 to complete the clearing of the house.
“We use this as an opportunity to teach them things that they may actually encounter in combat,” said Henson. “You ease around the corner, acquire a target and then take action, not just run out into a hall. These are techniques you are only going to learn during advanced marksmanship training.”
In another scenario, the competitors had to shoot, run for cover, shoot again, run to a new location, use a hand grenade to blast open a door and then clear the house.
“This seems to be everyone’s favorite event,” said Henson. “Most of these guys go to the range, sight in their weapon and shoot for qualification. But they rarely get the opportunity to use this many weapons and go through the shoot and run scenarios we set up for them at the competition.”
Although this event is a great way to foster some friendly competition, it not only provides training for the teams and individuals, but they can use this new information at their home units as well.
“They can take this back to the unit and may be able to identify any issues other soldiers are having and make the corrections since, even though may only be an E4, they have had the training,” said Henson.
According to Henson, the guys who get to come love this training and competition.
“We are always looking to get more people involved,” he said.
Soldiers and airmen wanting to prepare for next year’s competition should get started as soon as possible. There are many ways to train, even if you don’t know what to expect during the competition.
“You can use the beam hits, conduct PMIs, practice running and covering which are basic soldiering tasks, common skills tasks,” Henson added. “It always helps to actually get some bullets and train, and make sure that at a minimum your rifles are zeroed.”
| Date Taken: | 03.18.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 03.22.2013 16:22 |
| Story ID: | 103974 |
| Location: | COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 156 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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