Photo By Master Sgt. David Johnson | Staff Sgt. Taylor Turner of Alpha Company, 412th Civil Affairs Battalion (A),...... read more read more
We do not leave any Soldier behind,” said Lt. Col. Paul Sanders, the battalion commander. “We don’t leave any Soldier unfit, uncared-for or unqualified.”
The high mark for marksmanship was accomplished through quality training and attention to detail.
“We qualified 99 out of 99 firers this time,” said Master Sgt. Horgan, operations non-commissioned officer for the 412th. “Last qualification range, we had 113 out of 113 qualify.”
The teamwork required to run a range, coach Soldiers in marksmanship techniques and ensure everyone qualifies is a tribute to the NCO Corps in the 412th.
“I’ve never seen a battalion reach this high of an overall qualification rate since I’ve been in the Army Reserve,” said Command Sgt. Maj Dwayne Eaddy of the 412th.
During Battle Assembly weekends, the 412th targets its goal of obtaining a qualification rate of 100 percent.
As leaders can attest, marksmanship is a perishable skill so much preparation goes into training.
“Only four Soldiers required remedial marksmanship instruction,” said Staff Sgt. Taylor Turner, a weapons expert in Alpha Company, 412th. “Once I had them feeling comfortable, I used a mnemonic, ‘slow on, slow off’ to demonstrate how to squeeze the trigger.”
Those four Soldiers qualified on their next attempt, taking the battalion to its expected 100 percent rating.
In addition to the routine weapons qualification, the battalion trained on myriad rigorous training events.
The Soldiers of the 412th conducted water survival training, crew-served weapons firing, day and night land navigation, load and unload helicopters, an airborne jump, and key-leader-engagement, a collective civil affairs task, in mock villages.
At the end of the training, the tired-but-happy Soldiers of the 412th convoyed back to Columbus, Ohio, saying goodbye to comrades before travelling home to see their loved ones after two weeks of arduous duty.
The members will see each other again soon during the next Battle Assembly. They will likely reminisce over the recent training at Fort Knox and get ready for more civil affairs duties that will hone their other skillsets.
| Date Taken: | 08.14.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.31.2016 16:38 |
| Story ID: | 208630 |
| Location: | COLUMBUS, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 156 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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