Photo By Sgt. Evan Myers | Sgt Daniel Williams, assigned to the 387th Military Police Company of the 81st Troop...... read more read more
FORT KNOX, Ky. - Soldiers from Indiana Army National Guard’s 81st Troop Command ventured out to Fort Knox, Kentucky on the weekend of April 10-12. There they held a change of responsibility ceremony. Command Sgt. Maj. Patrick H. Fromme retired from the military after 33 years of service and Command Sgt. Maj. Dale A. Shetler assumed responsibility of the brigade. In addition to the ceremony, the guardsmen also completed their annual individual weapons qualification training. The soldiers then had the opportunity to use state-of-the-art electronic scoring technology.
Fromme has served in the 81st for the past nine years.
“I will miss serving with these fine soldiers, many of whom I deployed with,” Fromme said. “While I am certainly proud of the current readiness level of the unit, I am most proud of the successful missions that we’ve undergone where we sent our soldiers into harm’s way and were still able to bring them home safely. We have lost some men, but I feel that troop command has prepared these soldiers as best as we can.”
Shetler, who assumed command of the unit, has served in the Army for 30 years. Shetler said that he is looking forward to leading a multipurpose component of the Indiana National Guard.
“It used to be all about preparing and the train up for going to war,” Shetler said. “Now, Troop Command’s dual mission of that, as well as providing state emergency services, is exciting. I’m really looking forward to that whole process.”
Troops from the 81st also used advanced electronic target systems to aid them in their annual individual weapons qualifications. The scoring technology, developed by Sius Ascor of Switzerland, was originally utilized in Olympic shooting competitions before being adopted by the U.S. military.
According to Sgt. 1st Class Geoffrey North, of the 384th Military Police Company, who briefed the 81st on the new equipment, a handful of military installations across the country have access to this technology, but the system used by the 81st is the most up-to-date targeting system that the U.S. Army has to offer.
“Battle zeroing” is the process in which a marksman adjusts the iron sights or optics of a rifle to ensure a precise and centered shot group for the individual shooter. With the electronic scoring system, a shooter is told what adjustments to make on their rifle immediately after shooting via a computer screen right next to them on the firing line. This eliminates the need to walk downrange to look at a paper target.
“Every target has a computer mat equipped on the outside to detect when it was hit,” North said. “If your shots hit within 28 centimeters, the computer will triangulate your shot group and tell you exactly what adjustments you need to make.”
According to North, sensors on the targets and on the ground in the shooter’s lane detect sound and muzzle flash, preventing inaccurate score readings.
“The machine is able to tell if the shooter next to you hits one of your targets, or if a round ricochets and hits a target,” North said. “The system will register that as an invalid shot.”
Along with the change of responsibility ceremony and qualification, much of the rest of the weekend consisted of troops from the 81st proceeding towards business as usual and policing up empty brass on the firing lines, taking inventory of all necessary equipment, cleaning weapons and closing down ranges.
| Date Taken: | 04.12.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.12.2015 15:13 |
| Story ID: | 159770 |
| Location: | FRANKLIN, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 841 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, 81st Troop Command gains new leadership and qualifies with new equipment, by SGT Evan Myers, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT