Photo By David Vergun | A Soldier holds a 120mm mortar round in an isometric position for as long as he can to...... read more read more
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FORT BENNING, Ga. -- The three-day inaugural Best Mortar Competition kicked off Saturday, April 14, 2018, in the early morning darkness of the Sand Hill area here.
Each of the event competitors is an 11C indirect fire Infantry Soldier, and is part of a mortar squad, section or platoon. All are highly proficient with the Army's 60mm, 81mm and 120mm mortars.
This year, seven four-man teams are competing from around the Army. Teams this year come from the 82nd Airborne Division, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 10th Mountain Division, the 7th Infantry Division, the 1st Infantry Division, the 101st Airborne Division, and the 198th Infantry Training Brigade.
The first day of competition included a wide-variety of physical fitness events as well as mortar-specific tasks designed to highlight each Soldier's skills in tactics, techniques and procedures.
The competition is meant to inspire competitiveness and excellence in the mortar community, said Capt. Luis Rivas, lead planner for the event.
Indirect fire Infantrymen provide critical capabilities to Army ground forces and as such, their proficiency contributes immeasurably to Army readiness, he said.
1st Sgt. John Fleet, the first sergeant of 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, the organization hosting BMC, said the competition also provides a report card to the Army on how well its schools and home-station training are building mortar proficiency in Soldiers.
EVENTS PUSH LIMITS
While no individual event of the competition was particularly arduous, the combination of physical activities throughout the day pushed the physical and mental abilities of competitors to their limits, said Sgt. Jose De La Torre, of the 2nd Infantry Division.
The first physical event included a sprint-drag-carry with 225 pounds in a litter, a 10-pound ball throw, deadlifts, t-pushups, leg tucks, and a two-mile run.
De La Torre said that the two-mile run with boots was the hardest because it came last after all of the other physical activities. His time was a respectable 16:45.
Before enlisting, De La Torre said he was a welder at a chemical plant in Houston. The plant closed, however, and De La Torre was laid off. He then joined the Army, though it was something he said he'd been thinking about doing for some time.
Now at Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Washington, the sergeant said he regularly fires 120mm mortars from his Stryker, something he said is "an awesome task."
He's also seen combat in Afghanistan in 2013. While there, his unit helped to train Afghan security forces.
Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Murphy, an indirect fire Infantryman who also serves as a drill sergeant at Fort Benning, was one of about two dozen evaluators at BMC.
The reason for scheduling the grueling physical fitness activity early in the day was to add to the stress later on with the mortar tasks, Murphy said. Soldiers need to be able to think clearly while under stress, particularly in combat.
Murphy himself has seen combat in multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and has used the 60mm, 81mm and 120mm mortars for both defensive and offensive operations.
The competitors ran about a mile to their next series of events, just as daylight broke.
Soldiers had to hold a 35-pound, 120mm mortar round at arms' length for as long as possible. Then, competitors ran across a field and each Soldier shifted a 120mm mortar tube around a mortar system baseplate.
Moving a 120mm mortar system around isn't easy, Murphy said, explaining that the baseplate weighs 136 pounds, the tube 110 pounds and the bipod 78 pounds, not including the sighting instrumentation.
Once this was accomplished, Soldiers paired up and ran across a field hauling the baseplate, dropping it on the ground and then picking up the tube and running back with it.
Pfc. Christian Barnwell of the 10th Mountain Division said the most difficult part of these tasks was running with the tube and baseplate, because the two Soldiers carrying each piece had to run in step to synchronize their movements.
The mental portion of events involved declination of the M2A2 aiming circle, a tripod-mounted tool that resembles a surveyor's transit. Competitors had to sight in on four aiming points in a six-minute period.
The purpose of the M2A2 aiming circle is to ensure the mortar systems point in the correct fire direction.
Murphy explained that in an operational setting, Soldiers can accomplish this task with either a standard-issue lensatic compass or with the M2A2, but the most accurate reading would be done using both.
The afternoon events included more physical activities, an obstacle and a confidence course.
MORTARMEN AND BMC
Soldiers with the 11C MOS get 14 weeks of basic training with mortars upon enlisting. When they attain the rank of staff sergeant or sergeant first class, they get advanced training at the Infantry Mortar Leader Course. Lieutenants and captains also are eligible to attend IMLC.
Instructions include tactical employment of the mortar platoon, graphics, fire planning, mechanical training, and forward observer and fire direction control procedures.
Fleet said that BMC was designed to test the technical and physical ability of indirect fire Infantrymen. Currently, the competition is open to enlisted Soldiers, private through sergeant first class.
Because graduates of IMLC are considered highly proficient, each of the four-man teams were balanced with two junior Soldiers and up to two IMLC graduates.
DAY TWO
Day two of the three-day inaugural Best Mortar Competition here, Sunday, included live-fire of the 60mm mortar.
Sgt. 1st Class Jason Smail, a range safety officer, explained the live-fire exercises taking place on day two and the method of engagement for Soldiers involved in the competition.
Each Soldier in the competing four-man teams was issued two 60mm high explosive rounds. Targets were arranged 350 to 400 meters downrange, Smail said.
Because targets were so close, the round travelled very high, perhaps 2,000 feet, before gravity took over, plunging it to the ground. It took an average of 10 seconds between firing and visual impact and then another two-to-three seconds for the audible explosion to report back.
Smail said 250 meters was the closest range allowed during the competition due to safety concerns. During combat, however, a closer range is acceptable if absolutely necessary.
The 60mm high explosive round could actually be seen arcing into the sky and then detonating with a loud explosion.
Smail said he fired the 60mm, 81mm and 120mm mortars in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
He noted that the rounds have multiple option fuses such as impact, proximity (air burst) or delayed-impact, which is commonly used for penetrating a bunker. The fuse, at the tip of the round, can be manipulated to the desired setting.
As each four-man team stepped up to the firing line, Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Wood loudly reinforced the steps necessary to engage the targets: "Line up. Charge zero. Rounds on impact. Air burst don't count."
Sgt. 1st Class Brett Erickson, one of two observers, recorded each hit as rounds impacted targets. Once a vehicle received a direct hit, the competitor received points for properly having effects on target.
Staff Sgt. Charles Jutz, responsible for safety on the range, said it takes a lot of practice and experience to be proficient to accurately engage a target with the 60mm mortar system.
The blast radius for a 60mm round impact is 15 meters, Jutz said, adding "you don't want to be within that radius because it's the kill zone."
Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Murphy, an evaluator, said the 60mm mortar is typically fired by two Soldiers, though it is possible for one Soldier to operate the weapon.
The 60mm mortar has a maximum range of 3,490 meters, he said. That means the target could be out of sight, so a forward observer maintains visibility of the target.
The live-fire competition continued for much of the morning.
Spc. Phillip Condra, a competitor from the 198th Infantry Training Brigade, did not hit a vehicle, but he did get close, sending up a cloud of dust. He said he felt his team was doing well in the competition on the second day.
Condra did not have time to reminisce too much about his live-fire results, however, because he and his team were soon running to their next objective three miles away -- at Eagle Tower, where Soldiers rappelled down a 34-foot tower and conducted additional mortar tasks.
Later in the day, the competitors participated in a live-fire with M-4 carbines and M-240B machine guns.
MORE ABOUT BMC
Competitors in the Best Mortar Competition are from the 11C indirect fire infantry military occupational specialty. All are members of a mortar squad, section or platoon and all are highly proficient with the Army's 60mm, 81mm and 120mm mortars.
This year, seven four-man teams are competing from around the Army. Teams this year come from the 82nd Airborne Division, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 10th Mountain Division, the 7th Infantry Division, the 1st Infantry Division, the 101st Airborne Division, and the 198th Infantry Training Brigade.
The BMC is meant to increase esprit de corps in the mortar community and elevate the desire for excellence and competitiveness, said Capt. Luis Rivas, lead planner for BMC.
Indirect fire Infantry Soldiers provide critical capabilities to Army ground forces and as such, their proficiency contributes immeasurably to Army readiness, he added.
Soldiers with the 11C MOS get 14 weeks of basic training with mortars upon enlisting. When they attain the rank of sergeant, staff sergeant, or sergeant first class, they get advanced training at the Infantry Mortar Leader Course. Lieutenants and captains also are eligible to attend IMLC.
Instructions include tactical employment of the mortar platoon, graphics, fire planning, mechanical training, and forward observer and fire direction control procedures.
DAY THREE
A four-man team from the 82nd Airborne Division captured the Best Mortar Team trophy during the inaugural Best Mortar Competition here, which ran April 14-16.
The winning team included Staff Sgt. James Pennington, Sgt. Ryan Mosser, Cpl. Jacob Nolan and Cpl. Alec Norton.
Earning the Best Individual trophy was Sgt. 1st Class Yuslandy Figueredo, of the 198th Infantry Training Brigade.
Pennington said the Soldiers on his team all love their jobs and realize the vital role mortars play in an Infantry formation -- that might have contributed to their success in the Best Mortar Competition, which was held for the first time this year.
"We're getting paid to shoot rockets out of cannons. How cool is that!" Pennington said.
But what really propelled the team toward a win, Pennington said, is that the team is "tight knit, like a family." He said each Soldier understood each other's strengths and weaknesses and worked to help each other overcome obstacles.
Mosser concurred with that assessment, and said that members of his team and the rest of his squad back at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, are so close, they hang out with each other even after work.
"I'd trust my life with any of them," Mosser said.
Mosser said the stressors and challenges his team faced during the competition exceeded anything they do back at Fort Bragg during home-station live-fire training.
The stress, he said, came from the piling on of a lot of strength and endurance events prior to the live fires. The exhausted mortarmen, he said, had to focus on setting up and bore sighting their mortars "while gasping for air."
Norton said that even though his team won BMC, nobody was perfect in their performance. Every competing Soldier slipped up occasionally, he said, and whenever that happened, teammates were there to lift that Soldier up.
Nolan said his team's success at Fort Benning also drew from their persistence and a willingness to win.
"Soldiers in the 82nd don't believe in quitting," he said, adding that he was still very impressed by the skills and effort put out by Soldiers from all of the teams, particularly the Rangers, who took second place in the BMC, and were nipping at their heels the entire time.
All four members of the winning team said they'd bring what they learned back to their unit and try to introduce more physical events into their mortar training plans.
The third place winner of the BMC was the team from the 101st Airborne Division.
BEST INDIVIDUAL MORTARMAN
Figueredo, the individual winner, said the most thrilling part of BMC, besides team camaraderie, was scoring a direct hit on a tank with his first 60mm mortar round despite a strong crosswind, and watching the sparks fly from impact.
The lethality of the mortars is why their motto is "High Angle Hell," he added.
Staff Sgt. Dustin Wimberley, an evaluator on the mortar live-fire range, said blowing things up is the best job in the Infantry.
Wimberley captured first place in the individual category during a pilot mortar competition held in June.
Lt. Col. Samuel Edwards, commander of 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry, the unit hosting BMC here, said he was impressed by the fortitude and tactical excellence of all of the competitors.
"One of the competitors was a private first class who graduated from basic training just two years ago," Edwards said. "In that short amount of time he attained an incredible level of proficiency."
Brig. Gen. Christopher Donahue, commandant of the Infantry School here, spoke at the BMC awards ceremony. He said teams of mortarmen are now in Afghanistan and Syria supporting the mission.
The enemy is watching what those Soldiers are doing, he said, and are "going to school" on ways to defeat them. "Therefore, we have to constantly refine how we fight."
Donahue encouraged Soldiers to return to their units and invest the same rigor and standards to home-station training that they experienced during the competition.
This year, seven four-man teams from around the Army competed in the Best Mortar Competition. Teams came from the 82nd Airborne Division, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 10th Mountain Division, the 7th Infantry Division, the 1st Infantry Division, the 101st Airborne Division, and the 198th Infantry Training Brigade.
The competition evaluated the implementation of techniques and skills in accordance with the Army Mortar Doctrine training guidance, said Capt. Luis Rivas, lead planner for the event.
Indirect fire Infantrymen provide critical capabilities to Army ground forces and as such, their proficiency contributes immeasurably to Army readiness, Rivas said.
| Date Taken: | 04.14.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 07.10.2018 13:01 |
| Story ID: | 283721 |
| Location: | FT BENNING, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 344 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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