Photo By Cpl. Scott Whiting | First Lt. Gentry Calhoun, the executive officer for Company B, 2nd Tank Battalion,...... read more read more
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MARINE COPRS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - The tanks of 2nd Marine Division haven’t executed a live-fire exercise aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune’s main installation in nearly a decade. That all changed June 3-4, 2013, as 2nd Tank Battalion, performed a battalion-wide fire support exercise aboard the base.
June 3 also marks the first time tanks have ever fired into the G-10 impact area of Camp Lejeune. Normally 2nd Tank Bn., uses range SR-10, which is located on the other side of New River off of Wilmington Highway.
First Lt. Gentry Calhoun, the executive officer for Company B, 2nd Tank Bn, said the goal of the live-fire exercise was to learn how to control multiple support elements.
Second Tank Bn. was assisted by Battery E, 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, who provided artillery support. Additionally, two ships off the coast of Onslow Beach provided naval gunfire support. Air support by fixed-winged and rotary-winged aircraft was also provided by aircrafts from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.
2nd Tank Bn., had fire-support teams tasked with controlling the efforts of supporting units. This allowed all parties involved to effectively engage the simulated enemy.
“For example, (Company B) had to move two platoons of tanks to fill in a hole in our defense,” explained Calhoun. “You don’t want to maneuver any elements unless there is suppression covering their movement. We called for naval gunfire in conjunction with (Company A) calling in artillery in order to effectively move the tanks to their new battle positions.”
The battalion performed missions like that throughout the two days of their live-fire training.
“This is the first time in history a tank main gun has fired into the G-10 impact area,” Calhoun said. “That’s a big deal because Camp Lejeune doesn’t have many live-fire training opportunities for tanks. Our only other range is SR-10. We do our semi-annual gunnery training there, and it’s really our only chance to partake in a live-fire exercise at all.”
He explained that taking the tanks to G-10 to calibrate all the working parts is more cost-effective, since the range is much closer than SR-10.
“Now we don’t have to spend that money,” said Calhoun. “We can drive the tank 10 minutes to a much closer range and test everything there.”
Calhoun is confident that this successful field operation will open doors to future tank training on this side of New River.
“Being allowed to fire (at the G-10 impact area) showed range control that we can fire out here safely without any issues, and hopefully we’ll be able to utilize the range more often,” said Calhoun.
| Date Taken: | 06.07.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 06.07.2013 14:12 |
| Story ID: | 108274 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 567 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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