Iron Eagle door gunners qualify /170 Soldiers train on M240-H machine gun

Photo By Spc. Jason Dangel | Spc. Ryan Clark, flight instructor, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, from Boulder, Colo., engages a target from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during an aerial gunnery training exercise at the Besmiyah Range Complex 20 miles south of the Iraqi capital, Feb. 14. The gunnery qualification is an annual requirement for both crew chiefs and door gunners from the CAB's 2nd and 3rd Battalions.  

TAJI, IRAQ

02.21.2009

Story by Sgt. Jason Dangel 

1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Aviators from the Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, completed aerial gunnery qualification training, Feb. 12-18, at the Besmiyah Range Complex located 20 miles south of the Iraqi capital.

The gunnery qualification is an annual requirement for both crew chiefs and door gunners from the CAB's 2nd and 3rd Battalions. During the six-day event, approximately 170 Soldiers trained on the proper execution of target acquisition and suppression from a moving aircraft.

"Aerial gunnery training is required annually, and it gives our guys a chance to go out and engage targets from different positions on the aircraft," said Staff Sgt. Jason Wahn, brigade standardization instructor, from Houston.

"For this range, specifically, gunners are required to engage targets during each prescribed mode of flight; the hover, air-land, moving fire and high-speed pass," he said.

Unlike the organic weapons systems readily available for AH-64D Apache attack helicopter pilots, both UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47F Chinook helicopter pilots rely on door gunners and crew chiefs to man M240-H machine guns for aircraft defense and security while flying combat missions in Iraq.

Soldiers characterize the training as an essential component to the survivability of the helicopters and teach troops how to suppress enemy attacks long enough for the pilots to maneuver out of the hostile area and continue on with the mission.

In order to become a qualified door gunner, each candidate must first complete 40-hours of academic training which includes education on ammunition dispersion and ballistics, crew terminology, and target acquisition and engagement.

After the academic portion of the training is complete, gunners must complete seven training tables that focus on individual gunnery and M240-H familiarization.

The table eight, or live-fire gunnery at the BRC, is a culmination of the entire training program, and must be completed twice; once during the day and once under night-vision goggle conditions. Some of the targets on the range include old disabled military vehicles, barrels and silhouettes.

"Shooting from the ground doesn't have the same effect as shooting from the air," Wahn explained. "It's extremely difficult to accurately engage a target from the air due to the excessive wind speed and downwash from the rotor causes the bullet trajectory to be a lot different.

"The range primarily serves to train us in a realistic combat scenario, so we can be in flight and fire at the same time," he added. "The gunnery is important and combat effective; we can't put our guys out there on the ground and let them shoot targets and then expect them to effectively engage the enemy from an aircraft."

Communication is considered the most difficult aspect of the training, said Sgt. Jeremiah Shenefelt, standardization instructor and a Black Hawk helicopter crew chief, 3rd Bn., 4th Avn. Regiment, from Laramie, Wyo.

Communicating effectively while simultaneously protecting the aircraft, crew and passengers, are all part of the complex job of a door gunner.

"As a crew chief and door gunner, I have to multi-task to get the job done. I have to be able to listen to the pilots, the radio calls and effectively manage the aircraft crew, so it can get pretty complex," said Shenefelt.

"Being a successful door gunner is up to each individual," he added. "We have all the tools we need to accomplish the job and it is up to us to be as successful as we want to be. The job description doesn't imply anything extremely taxing, but the challenge is obvious when we get behind the gun."

• Date Taken: 02.21.2009
• Date Posted: 02.21.2009 10:35
• Story ID: 30269
• Location: TAJI, IQ