Photo By Spc. Jordyn Worshek | Spc. Rayquan Rodgers and Pfc. August Little, infantrymen from Headquarters and...... read more read more
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Preparing for a Live Firing Exercise
By Spc. Jordyn Worshek
The videos often seen as “cool” when pertaining to the military are usually the ones with big guns, huge explosions and lots of action. Before all the “cool” stuff happens though, there are factors behind the scenes that aren’t normally talked about. There are multiple stages of preparations to be made before a Battalion is even allowed to fire one round.
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, held a mortar Live Fire Exercise at Fort Stewart, Ga. Jan. 22-26.
Mortars are suppressive indirect fire weapons. They can be employed to neutralize, suppress, or destroy area or point targets, screen large areas with smoke, and provide illumination or coordinated high explosive/illumination. The mortar platoon’s mission is to provide close and immediate indirect fire support to all maneuver units on the battlefield. Which means a good size explosion at the target site. First though, they had to prepare.
In preparation for an LFX, the unit leader ensures his Soldiers are proficient in individual weapons knowledge, qualification, range determination and target identification. Soldiers must also know the basics of fire control measures and movement techniques.
Once all Soldiers have proficient knowledge in all the objectives, they move out to their predetermined range. While engaged in the LFX, training should be executed as if the unit were going to war. Movement, ammunition, distribution, sleep/rest plans, and feeding plans should all be conducted tactically.
In this LFX, 3-15 IN had a support Battalion assist them with the movement and distribution of ammunition.
“The distro platoon helps get the ammo to the range and helps out the Battalion who is firing by setting up ammo points and the security barrier,” said 1st Lt. Larry Penrod, a distribution Soldier from Company H, 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd ABCT. “We also make sure the ammo is signed for by the right person.”
While the ammo points are completed, Soldiers set-up the fire direction center and ensure that radio checks with forward observers are completed and communications are established.
“Before anything else happens, we have to set up the communications between all the track vehicles and the fire direction center,” said Spc. Rayquan Rodgers, an infantryman from HHC, 3-15, 2ABCT. “The fire direction center tells us where and when to fire.”
After communications are set to go, crews must use the bore sight to calculate where their target is and make any adjustments before firing. Boresighting is a vital measure to enhance accuracy that must be conducted. Procedures include manual and digital boresighting, depending on the equipment assigned.
Once all the mission objectives are prepped, the unit does a dry-run concentrating on maneuver, communications, command and control, and safety. Then the live firing can begin.
| Date Taken: | 01.22.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 01.28.2019 10:53 |
| Story ID: | 308460 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 168 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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