Photo By Sgt. Nicholas Holmes | 2nd Lt. Brandon Woolf, platoon leader and range safety officer with Company E, 9th...... read more read more
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FORT STEWART, Ga. - Soldiers of Company E, 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division facilitated the Division’s Hot Range at Fort Stewart, Georgia, June 7-9.
The Hot Range provided units from 3rd Infantry Division an opportunity to have Soldiers qualify on assigned weapons to maintain combat readiness.
“It is important to have ranges like this available for Soldiers to train on,” said Staff Sgt. Shana Gilley, ammunition specialist and noncommissioned officer in charge of ammunition with Co. E. “As Soldiers we need to ensure our combat skills are intact.”
The battalion has been facilitating the Hot Range since April of this year.
“This is a division tasking that the battalion has been assigned,” said 2nd Lt. Aaron Hinkelman, platoon leader and officer in charge of the range with Co. E. “Each week a different company from the battalion has been responsible for running the qualification range.”
The operation of the Hot Range has effectively minimized time and resources while maximizing the number of Soldiers to qualify.
“We have the ability to cycle a lot of Soldiers through qualifications,” Hinkelman said. “Each unit is responsible for providing [personal protective equipment], magazines and lane safeties, while ammunition was provided by 3rd Sustainment [Brigade]. It is a hybrid of [Company E] and the units within division working together to give Soldiers the opportunity to have [training] with their weapons and to qualify.”
Soldiers used paper targets while calibrating weapons, as well as during qualification. Division projects an average of 160 Soldiers to qualify at the range each week, according to Hinkelman.
“By using paper targets we bypass computer systems or mechanical issues that may arise given the number of Soldiers utilizing the range,” Hinkelman said. “This allows us to keep moving Soldiers through the qualification process with fewer disruptions.”
The hours between 9 a.m. and noon were dedicated to Soldiers calibrating weapons. Qualification were conducted in the afternoon and concluded daily at 4 p.m. Those who did not qualify due to time restraints or other complications were welcomed to return the following day.
Safety was the responsibility of all Soldiers and strictly enforced at the range.
“We have several qualified [range safety officers] personnel on the range with us,” Hinkelman said. “Although as always, everyone is expected to be very situationally aware of the activity on the range.”
The battalion has been resilient with managing the fluctuating volume of Soldiers utilizing the range and is slated to be relieved of the Hot Range operational responsibilities early in July, according to Hinkelman.
| Date Taken: | 06.07.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.13.2016 15:49 |
| Story ID: | 200928 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 85 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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