Photo By Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Tarr | Ukrainian soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 93rd Mechanized Brigade maneuver a BMP-2...... read more read more
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YAVORIV, Ukraine—Thirty‐millimeter high‐explosive rounds with their tell‐tale red phosphorous tails lit up the air here during a joint U.S. and Ukrainian‐led BMP‐2 live‐fire exercise August 11, 2016.
Soldiers assigned to 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division trained, monitored and acted as safeties for Ukrainian BPM‐2 Infantry Fighting Vehicles. The effort is part of the Joint Multinational Training Group‐Ukraine mission to train Ukrainian Ground Forces in defensive capabilities and build a sustainable training capacity through the development of trained Ukrainian cadre.
The training mimicked U.S. Army gunnery in many ways including the crawl, walk, run table of engagements many of the Cavalry Troopers are familiar with. The three‐day training event included ammunition maintenance, proper weapon system procedures, how to remove and install the PKT machine gun, misfire procedures, evacuation of an injured crewman, sending medical requests and calling for support.
“The Soldiers from 6‐8 Cav are really excited to train with the Ukrainians to show them stuff that we know,” said Sgt. 1st Class Branon Ryals, a 1st Sergeant assigned to Alpha Troop 6‐8 Cav. “We want to show them how we train as an Army, and hopefully they will pick up our tactics to become an even better fighting force in the future.”
The range consisted of a total of nine BMP‐2 vehicles engaging and destroying targets that ranged from 400 to 1,000 meters. Each vehicle had at least two iterations on the range to ensure the vehicle commander and the gunner had a chance to switch positions and adequately learn each other’s roles.
“Each and every Soldier needs to know how to properly function the vehicle and weapon system because it will help them on the battlefield,” said Senior Soldier Oleksly, a Soldier assigned to the Ukrainian Army.
Although the U.S. presence was felt, they stood back and acted as observers in order to maintain safety and share their knowledge. Overall, though, the Ukrainian cadre took the lead on the range to ensure they were able to adequately run the lanes. This will eventually lead to them executing the training program on their own.
Spc. Michael Wilson, a Soldier assigned to 6‐8 Cav., was put in place as a safety for the range and was in charge of making sure the Ukrainian Soldiers cleared their weapons after exiting the range. This didn’t come without its challenges for the young Army Soldier.
“When I ask the Ukrainian Soldiers to clear their weapons they have a difficult time understanding me because of the language barrier,” said Wilson. “I have to use exaggerated movements to show them what I need them to do.”
The live‐fire exercises last for three days. The crews will then spend the next 40 days training with Soldiers from 6‐8 Cav learning how to maneuver and dismount infantrymen from the vehicle.
“I think that it’s great that we’re about to cross‐train with the Ukrainian Army,” said Wilson. “We’re able to teach each other things that we have never thought of before and see things with a different perspective.”
The nine‐week training rotation starts with individual skills, such as land
navigation, marksmanship and weapons training and builds up to collective skills training such as platoon live‐fire and ultimately a battalion field training exercise.
The JMTG‐U mission is about building a sustainable, enduring training capacity and capability within the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which will help protect its territorial sovereignty.
| Date Taken: | 08.13.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.13.2016 10:23 |
| Story ID: | 207031 |
| Location: | YAVORIV, UA |
| Web Views: | 293 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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