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Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade conducted gunnery table qualifications and a convoy live fire exercise at Red Cloud Hotel and Red Cloud Golf ranges, located on Fort Stewart, Ga., from Jan. 9 to 28.
Conducted twice a year, this training provided familiarization and qualification requirements for the units’ mission essential task list, something that unit gunners must be up to par on in preparation for other training events or missions.
“Anytime you do training that focuses on mastery of marksmanship, it just makes us more capable of our wartime mission,” said Capt. Jason Akers, the officer in charge of the gunnery and also the commander for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Special Troops Battalion. “It was nice to be able to spend three weeks just focusing on it.”
This exercise demonstrated the ‘crawl, walk, run’ mentality, allowing Soldiers to first become familiar with the tasks through training and practice before qualifying and eventually conducting the live fire exercise.
The ‘crawl’ phase included gunnery tables two through six and also concurrent training for the first two weeks. Table two was blank familiarization, where the gunner focused on becoming accustomed to the weapon and vehicle before moving on to table three, which involved an actual qualification with the weapon. This required seven out of 10 targets to be destroyed effectively.
Once the gunner was qualified, the rest of the crew, including the driver and truck commander, were incorporated on table four to prove they could work successfully as a team through commands and engagement. Tables five and six were strictly practice and preparation for the walking phase. These two tables increased the amount of distance between the crew and the target and, upon successful completion, the crew was qualified.
Split into two groups, Soldiers spent a day at the tables and the next day doing concurrent training for the duration of the first two weeks. The first two days of concurrent training were spent in a classroom-like setting, learning the basics before going out to do situational training exercise (STX) lanes for four days. The major focuses of the training included troop leading procedures, medical operations and improvised explosive device (IED) countermeasures, said Capt. Cory L. Sullivan, the officer in charge of the training and a detachment commander assigned to the 24th Finance Management Support Unit, Special Troops Battalion.
The first of the two STX lanes was a reaction to an IED blast. Soldiers were charged with conducting timely medical procedures and evacuating to the landing zone, where they coordinated with a flight crew to withdraw from the area.
The other STX lane involved an ambush and road block combined with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defense training. Both lanes were based on the potential situations that could arise in a combat environment.
The ‘walk’ phase included two more tables. Table nine combined two vehicles, or teams, and table 12 was a squad or even platoon equivalent. The completion proved that proper communication and teamwork had been achieved while still maintaining effective target engagement.
Once all gunnery tables were completed, the convoy live fire exercise made up the ‘run’ phase. All skills acquired and practiced up to that point were demonstrated in the convoy. Through prior coordination with the 18th Airborne Corps, the live fire convoy was able to simulate a 360 degree environment, whereas most training events can only provide front, left and right sides for firing, Akers said.
Though this was a training exercise, it was also a competition for the top gunner. That title was based on both precision and timeliness of target destruction and was given to three Soldiers for their performance.
Pfc. Alvin Soto-Rivera, assigned to 396th Composite Transportation Company, 87th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, was one of them.
“I was in gunnery last year, but I was a driver, not a gunner,” Soto-Rivera said. “The first couple of days I was missing targets, but I kept going.”
His determination pushed him above and beyond his peers, as he has been highly recognized by many of his superiors. If the opportunity arises again in the future, he would like to participate, he said.
“It was a good experience. I like shooting targets.”
Not only did the hands-on training prove valuable for the Soldiers, but the after action reviews (AAR) gave insight as well.
“The AARs afterward were the most productive part of the training,” Sullivan said. “From the Soldier to the NCO to the leader, everybody had to face how they performed.”
Now that the training has concluded, it is time to start planning the next one that is scheduled for June. Ammunition and land requirements, as well as any other coordination needed, must be prearranged to ensure the exercise is successful once again.
“It’s good training,” Akers said. “I’d take them downrange with me. They can ride in my convoy any day. It’s exciting to be able to say that at the end of the exercise.”
| Date Taken: | 02.06.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 02.06.2017 16:44 |
| Story ID: | 222664 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 272 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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