Photo By Pfc. Khori Johnson | A Bradley firing a burst of ammunition down-range during the 3rd Advise and Assist...... read more read more
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CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – The 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, is revisiting its old stomping grounds, the gunnery range, near Camp Buehring, Kuwait to enable soldiers to train and stay proficient on two of their main weapons systems.
The gunnery range enables the brigade to maintain its combat capability, while conducting the advise and assist mission in southern Iraq, a role that does not allow the brigade’s soldiers to work or train with their large weapons systems.
During the gunnery rotation, which began in September and will continue until December, 300 soldiers at a time from all six battalions will cycling through the week-long iterations, which alternate between Bradley and M-1 Tank gunnery. Each gunnery rotation begins with re-familiarization, followed by the two-day gunnery.
“Our main objective was, to first, get the new crews familiarized with the Bradley gun system,” said Sgt. 1st Class James Glenn, of Redding, Calif., range officer in charge, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd AAB, 4th Inf. Div.
Each three-man Bradley crew, or four-man tank crew, tests its skills in a series of offensive and defensive engagement scenarios a minimum of three times without ammunition before progressing to the live-fire exercises.
The range cadre encourages soldiers to conduct the training meticulously and efficiently to gain as much knowledge as possible.
“Some soldiers have had the opportunity to be part of a mechanized unit, so they’ve been around the Bradley for a good part of their career. But we also have some soldiers who are coming from units, like the 82nd Airborne or the 101st, who have always been on the ground and have never been able to be a part of the Bradley system,” he said.
In addition to soldiers transferring from non-mechanized units, there were some soldiers that hadn’t received any Bradley or tank training since they left advanced individual training.
“This is my first time driving a Bradley since getting to the unit,” said Pfc. John Biven, of Kansas City, Mo., driver and scout, Troop A, 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry, 3rd AAB, 4th Inf. Div. “I learned a lot about driving a Bradley that I wasn’t taught in A.I.T. It was good training.”
For many of the more experienced soldiers, this training provides an important refresher.
“With the missions that we had going on for the past seven or so years, we have guys that don’t get to spend that much time on the Bradley,” said Glenn. “So those soldiers are just shaking off the rust.”
Some of the experienced NCOs not only “shook off the rust” but learned some new skills as well.
“This was more of a refresher for me, but I also got a chance to work with the new computer systems in the Bradleys,” said Staff Sgt. Thomas Leyva, of Piscataway, N.J., Bradley commander and scout, Troop A, 4th Sqdn., 10th Cav. “The new system is more complex. For instance, while my gunner is engaging a target on his screen, I can be looking at a different target on my screen.”
So far the rotations have gone smoothly due to the range detail’s emphasis on safety.
"A big thing for us out here is weapons orientation,” said Glenn, meaning weapons were always pointed in the proper direction. “Also, we make sure everyone is wearing the proper head gear, and when on top of the vehicles, we make sure that our soldiers are using three points of contact.”
During each iteration, the range detail must also ensure that every training task can be completed to standard within the allotted time. This is no small feat in a foreign training area with a mixed group of soldiers from all six battalions. Still, the master gunners who run the range have cracked the code.
“We’ve kind of fell into a good rhythm with running the range,” said Glenn. “Every person on the range detail has specific things that are their responsibility. That way, we get our ammunition drawn by a certain time, we get our vehicles fueled by a certain time, we have chow at a certain time, and we have everything to a set schedule.”
| Date Taken: | 10.28.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 10.28.2010 05:13 |
| Story ID: | 58968 |
| Location: | CAMP BUEHRING, KW |
| Web Views: | 57 |
| Downloads: | 6 |
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