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FORT DEVENS, Mass. – The excitement was palpable as Soldiers with 3 to 33 years of experience cycled through some explosive training during an unexpectedly warm weekend drill in November.
More than 40 members of Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) of the 151st Regional Support Group, which is based at Camp Curtis Guild in Reading, conducted annual weapons training at Devens Reserve Forces Training Area (DRFTA).
While the average high temperature in early November usually remains in the low 50s, Soldiers enjoyed days which rose past 70 degrees during their four-day drill. As a result, no one could blame any missed targets on the weather.
Soldiers fired a variety of organic weapon systems - including M4 automatic rifles, M17 pistols, M249 Squad Automatic Weapons (SAW), the MK-19 Automatic Grenade Launcher and M320 Grenade Launcher – but also practiced throwing hand grenades – both practice and explosive rounds during the training.
While all Soldiers are required to qualify on their individually assigned weapon, HHC Commander Capt. Connor Mulcahy said rotating more people through the three grenade ranges helped hone their basic combat skills.
“I’d call that increased combat readiness,” Mulcahy said, adding this experience will help Soldiers focus during future drills, at annual training and any state activations.
He considers the weekend a huge success.
“You can’t throw grenades often,” Mulcahy said.
Sgt. Major Bernard Madore, a senior operations sergeant, said he’s never employed hand grenades during his 33-year career. He was excited to participate in the training alongside of younger Soldiers.
“I’ve never seen training like that,” Madore said.
Master Sgt. Chris Dery, an operations sergeant, stressed how proper technique and safety was paramount as he provided an overview of safe handling and employment of hand grenades.
“What you’re going to focus on is good training, good technique and safety,” Dery said as he explained the stations at the practice grenade course, which was conducted prior to the live grenade range.
He stressed how Soldiers must get behind cover after throwing a grenade, which have the tendency to bounce and roll before exploding.
“This isn’t notional – you’re not going to stand and just watch it,” Dery said, adding all Soldiers had to wear fully loaded plate carriers, helmets, eye and ear protection on the range.
Each Soldier had 10 practice grenades, which contained a small explosive charge, and could use up to two of them on each of the first six lanes. Participants had to safely throw a grenade behind a covered position while they were prone, kneeling or standing before returning to cover within a 15-second period.
“Once you let it go, you’ve got to get down again,” Dery said, adding Soldiers had to engage targets which represented enemy combatants in the open, in a bunker, manning a mortar, entrenched and adjacent to a vehicle.
The seventh lane tested their ability to identify the different types of grenades – from fragmentary, to incendiary, smoke and CS gas.
They had to meet the requirements on five of the seven lanes to qualify to throw live rounds, which was the highlight of the drill for many.
Pfc. Elias Lefleur, a human resources specialist, said he also enjoyed the M320, which fired a single 40-mm grenade. He added it was especially satisfying watching the training rounds explode into a cloud of orange powder on the range.
As a result, he was frustrated at the hand grenade ranges even though he threw a practice round which bounced directly into the sandbag-lined ring around the simulated mortar tube. It was the best attempt on that lane.
“I just wish I could have seen it land,” Lefleur said, adding he could only hear the distinct snap of the training round from behind a sturdy wooden barrier 35 meters away.
Spc. Kwasi Osei, a supply specialist, said this was the first time he’s tried the MK-19, a belt-fed grenade launcher which fired a stream of 40-mm projectiles, and enjoyed the challenge of the weapon system which can be mounted on a tripod or a vehicle in support of security operations.
The 151 RSG, which was established in 2006, is a deployable headquarters element which provides administrative, logistical and general support services to Regional Support Commands and enables commanders to support personnel at existing facilities in the U.S. or abroad, as needed. During Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) operations, the RSG acts as the brigade-level command of units activated as part of a state emergency.
| Date Taken: | 11.07.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 01.10.2021 14:59 |
| Story ID: | 386667 |
| Location: | READING/CAMP CURTIS GUILD, MASSACHUSETTS, US |
| Web Views: | 124 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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