To the guns

Photo By Sgt. SeoWon Lee | An M1A2 Abrams Tank crew with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry (Mechanized), 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, conduct pre-checks before heading out to the range March 3, at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex. Bradley and M1A2 Abrams tank crews from 2-9th Infantry conducted gunnery skills training March 1-4 to ensure unit readiness. This was the last major exercise before unit’s scheduled deactivation. (U.S. Army photo by Cpl. SeeWon Lee, 1ABCT)(Cutlines by Sgt. Samuel Northrup, 1ABCT)  

RODRIGUEZ LIVE FIRE COMPLEX, SOUTH KOREA

03.03.2015

Story by Sgt. Samuel Northrup 

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division

RODRIGUEZ LIVE FIRE COMPLEX, South Korea - Tired, yet ready, the tank crew maneuvered their vehicle into position. The gunner scanned for possible targets, waiting for an opportunity.

Outside the tank the valley was quiet except for the cawing from a few birds nearby. That is when the enemy made his move.

A target was spotted off in the distance and the tank’s turbine engine revved as the driver moved the tank into a better posture. The tank commander gave orders to the crew. The gunner acquired his target.

Silence filled the crew’s headsets momentarily. The tank commander gave the order.

The ground shook as the main gun roared and flames escaped from the barrel. Burst of rapid fire could be heard as the tank’s 50 Cal. took out what remained of the target.

This was a scenario played out by Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry (Mechanized), 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, as part of their Gunnery Table Qualification held March 3 at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex.

“This is my fifth gunnery with 2-9th Infantry in the two and a half years I have been in Korea,” said Capt. James Whitney, the commander of Company C, 2-9th Infantry. “Every six months we come out to ‘rod range’ for about three weeks to conduct Gunnery Tables III, IV, V and qualify on Table VI.”

Korea is one of the last places in the Army where Soldiers can do gunneries so often, said Whitney. It is a great opportunity.

Soldiers from 2-9th Infantry were part of the first element of the 2nd Infantry Division to touch Korean soil on July 31, 1950, when they arrived at Busan City. Now they are getting ready to leave the Peninsula after this gunnery, which is the unit’s last major exercise.

“For being the last gunnery … it has been a great experience that I have been glad to have been apart of,” said Pfc. Jose Sanchez, an M1A2 Abrams tank gunner with Company C. “In Korea, we get the opportunity to shoot more and go out and ‘tank more.’”

“To us this is just another routine training event where we get to shoot our big guns and ensure our crews are combat ready so we can maintain the ‘fight tonight status,’” said Whitney. “For some people, who spend most of their careers in light infantry, this is their first gunnery and it can be a big deal.”

Tankers in the company get to spend an enormous amount of time on their vehicles doing what they signed up to do in the Army, said Whitney. They are very happy about being at the gunnery and being able to shoot the tanks.

“Being out here and being a tanker is a whole experience,” Sanchez said. “You get to live, breathe and be inside the tank. In a way the tank is my home; I get to be inside of it 24/7. If they told me I could sleep in the tank, I would.”

Sanchez said he will miss working with his current crew and everyone else he sees every day. The crew is with one another so often they know each other through the stories they tell and the experiences they share.

“Each crew is different,” said Whitney. “All four of the crew members bring their own personalities and skill levels to the tank. It really is a team effort to be able to operate the tank efficiently. It is going to be impossible for a tank crew to shoot and qualify if they are not functioning as a cohesive unit.”

Soldiers are proud to be in their tanks, said Whitney. All of their tanks have names. Some of the tanks are named after events, others are just fun names or inside jokes. It gives a little bit of personal pride and ownership for the crew.

“It gives guys an esprit de corps and that feeling builds up when things are going right and you are actually doing well on your tables,” Whitney said. “There is an adrenaline rush and you guys are happy. For tankers, Table VI is like being at the super bowl; it doesn’t get any better.”

• Date Taken: 03.03.2015
• Date Posted: 03.11.2015 04:29
• Story ID: 156610
• Location: RODRIGUEZ LIVE FIRE COMPLEX, KR