Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Banzhaf | Pvt. Denzell Darden, a Kansas City native and cavalry scout with Company A, 6th...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT HOOD, Texas – Soldiers assigned to Company A, 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, conducted training on the operation and loading procedures of TOW weapon system on an M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle during here Oct. 23.
A TOW weapon system is a tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided weapon system is an anti-tank missile that has the ability to be mounted on many platforms ranging from ground based turrets and vehicles to helicopters.
“This is our go-to anti-tank weapon system for the Bradley,” said Sgt. Jonathan Benway, a Lancaster, N.H., native and Bradley commander with 6th Sqdn., 9th Cav. Regt. “It’s important that everyone in the Bradley knows how to load the TOW in case someone goes down. We can’t rely on just one person.”
“Apache” Company Troopers met in their motorpool before sunrise to kick off their day of First Team Training Time.
With the back hatch lowered on the Bradley vehicles, Benway, the TOW training instructor, demonstrated missile loading procedures as the roughly 20 Soldiers watched and took notes.
“The purpose of this training is to make sure they’re (Soldiers) ready to fight and to get them to work together,” Benway explained. “It’s a simple task, but the missiles are heavy and Soldiers have to maneuver with very little room.”
With a full combat load, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle can hold up to 10 TOW missiles, with an additional two pre-loaded in the launchers. Each TOW missile or warhead weighs almost 50 pounds.
Once given the command “Load TOW”, a Soldier in the back of the Bradley confirms the command and jumps into action, following a series of precise steps designed to quickly and safely reload the launcher.
With the reload complete, the Soldier then bangs on the gunner’s door and yells “TOW up!” - letting the gunner know that he is able to fire.
“We are training the Bradley crews to load the TOW,” said Spc. Karl Campos, a Moreno Valley, California native and cavalry scout with Apache Co. “We usually teach the dismounts or infantry Soldiers that load up in the back.”
After the session on loading the TOW, Campos, the secondary instructor, helped Benway teach the Soldiers on how to operate the weapon system.
Soldiers are extensively trained in their primary position but that doesn’t deter them from cross-training, he explained.
“I’m showing them the controls and how to maneuver the turret,” said Campos, a Bradley driver who has also learned the other duty positions in the Bradley. “It’s a compilation of switches, buttons and a joystick.”
The TOW projectile is controlled by the gunner by sending electrical current through wires while the missile is in flight. The gunner must guide the missile and maintain line of sight in order to hit the target.
The weekly First Team Training Time provides units the opportunity to dedicate a specified time to allow their Soldiers to share their knowledge and experiences while learning various tasks.
For the group of 3BCT Soldier, the day of training on the TOW weapon system gave Soldiers increased knowledge on the system and them an opportunity to work together as a team.
| Date Taken: | 10.29.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.29.2014 10:06 |
| Story ID: | 146435 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 260 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Cav conducts TOW missile training, by SFC Brandon Banzhaf, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
