FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. - A two-day tour ended with a boom.
Soldiers from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard gave an artillery live-fire demonstration to about 20 employers of Pennsylvania National Guard personnel May 9.
The demonstration was part of a two-day "Bosslift" event for Pennsylvania’s chapter of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. A group of civilian employers received a guided trip around Fort Indiantown Gap, including a ride on a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and a demonstration at a weapons simulator.
The artillery demonstration, which was conducted by the 166th Regiment - Regional Training Institute 's 2nd Modular Training Battalion, concluded the Bosslift.
Three different types of artillery pieces were used during the demonstration: the M777 155mm howitzer, M119 105mm howitzer and the M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzer.
Each shell is individually loaded into the howitzer, and a Soldier pulls a lever to release the projectile. Once a round is released, it can travel up to 28 miles.
The demonstration was an immediate nine-round iteration. Every piece of equipment was in the rotation to be set off one at a time so that others could watch very precisely.
The employers were also taken to an observation tower that overlooks the impact area from roughly a mile away.
Sgt. 1st Class Tyler Devereux, one of the instructors at the 166th Regiment, explained why they brought the group to the observation tower.
“You can see the impacts of the rounds that they fire,” Devereux said. "It will determine whether or not it is a successful hit or not. If it was not, we’ll be able to provide direction or corrections to them. This is so that they walk those rounds onto the target."
The targets on the range are made from parts of old military vehicles. Each is placed roughly 25-50 meters apart. The ultimate goal of the soldiers is to get a direct hit on the targets.
Date Taken: | 05.13.2024 |
Date Posted: | 05.13.2024 14:45 |
Story ID: | 471130 |
Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP , PENNSYLVANIA, US |
Web Views: | 142 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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