Photo By Sgt. Cheryl Madolev | U.S. Soldiers assigned to Regional Command-East of the NATO-led Kosovo Force mission,...... read more read more
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Training is a part of the daily life of a U.S. Soldier. This is no different for Soldiers conducting missions in a deployed environment.
Kosovo Force, also known as KFOR, is composed of 29 multinational military contingents whose mission is to ensure Kosovo remains a safe and secure environment for all communities within. To safeguard KFOR’s continued mission success and soldier readiness, all contingents conduct various training regularly.
Recently, U.S. Soldiers assigned to KFOR Regional Command-East’s Maneuver Battalion conducted a five-day training course focusing on the M153 Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station, Feb. 24-28, 2025.
The 40-hour operator training course gave the Soldiers the knowledge and skills necessary to operate the M153 Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station software, also known as CROWS. The CROWS system is a stabilized mount that contains a sensor suite and fire control software, and allows weapon operators to engage targets without leaving the protection of their vehicle.
U.S. Army OR-4. Phillip Luqueno, assigned to A. Company, 2-162 Infantry Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard, says that attending training like the CROWS course allows his unit to gain knowledge from experienced instructors and to become proficient on systems and equipment that otherwise would not be possible if not for the KFOR mission.
“I learned how to conduct maintenance and operate the system proficiently and successfully,” said Luqueno. “My favorite part of the class was being able to actually get hands-on with the weapons and the system. It’s the best way I learn.”
The CROWS system is gunner-operated and used by the U.S. military on multiple armored vehicles and ships. During the class, the Soldiers learned how to operate the system on a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, most commonly known as a HUMVEE.
Additionally, the instructors taught the Soldiers how to use the CROWS with multiple weapon systems including the MK19 Grenade Launcher, M2 .50 Caliber Machine Gun and M240B Medium Machine Gun.
U.S. Army OR-5 Hayden Miller, A Company, 2-162 Infantry Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard, enjoyed having the opportunity to be hands-on with the MK19 and the CROWS while deployed to Kosovo.
Some of the Soldiers had prior experience with the CROWS before attending the course. However, the classroom and hands-on instruction was a unique experience due to how detailed, thorough, and highly experienced the instructors were.
“My favorite part of the class was definitely the hands-on portion,” said Miller. “I very rarely get the chance to set up the MK19 on the CROWS, so learning the proper wiring configurations was one thing I learned.”
The students learned that comprehensive preventive maintenance checks and services, or PMCS, are vital to proper maintenance to ensure the CROWS can be used at full potential.
U.S. Army OR-4 Karla Reyes, Alpha Company, 2-162 Infantry Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard, is one of the Soldiers with prior experience with CROWS.
“Prior to this training I had been introduced to CROWS, but getting to see a more in depth explanation of how it works and the thorough PMCS was awesome,” said Reyes. “Every piece of equipment is important and has its own unique purpose. I loved being able to work with my peers and learn hands-on. I will be using everything I learned when I return to my unit back home.”
The course concluded with a culminating event in which the Soldiers had to conduct PMCS to find deficiencies in the system, properly mount a weapon, and then ensure the system was working properly with the mounted weapon. Afterwards, the Soldiers’ leadership was given a memorandum for record proving the participants successfully completed the 40-hour M153 CROWS operator training course.
U.S. Army OF-2 Capt. Joseph Kaufman, commander of Alpha Company, 2-162 Infantry Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard, joined his Soldiers on the last day of training and presented them with a challenge coin to show his appreciation of their efforts. He says this training during the KFOR 34 rotation is not traditionally something his Soldiers would be able to attend if they were stateside.
“Our 1st Sgt. and I take a great amount of pride in the hard work and dedication of our Soldiers,” said Kaufman. “It is important to note that our ability to capitalize on and succeed in training opportunities such as this is directly reliant on the dedication and discipline of our Soldiers and leaders, all the while ensuring there is no sacrifice to our overall mission in Kosovo.”
| Date Taken: | 02.28.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.26.2025 04:36 |
| Story ID: | 493668 |
| Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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