630th Quartermaster Detachment conducts call for fire training

Photo By Sgt. Juanita Philip | Spc. Shennique Davy, a water purification specialist with the 630th Quartermaster Detachment of the Virgin Island National Guard, reads the enemy coordinates while Staff Sgt. Eric Barnes, an instructor at the 210th Regional Training Institute, writes down the coordinates; as Spc. Kellita Henry, also with the 630th QM Det. utilizes a Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder to find the specific coordinates of enemy forces during Call for Fire training at the 210th RTI, Nov. 8.  

ST. CROIX, VIRGIN ISLANDS, US

11.08.2015

Story by Sgt. Juanita Philip 

Virgin Islands National Guard, 51st Public Affairs Detachment

ST. CROIX, Virgin Islands - A Virgin Island National Guard unit battled enemy forces during an ambush this weekend.

Or so it would seem as 630th Quartermaster Detachment personnel spent a morning on the Call for Fire Trainer at the 210th Regional Training Institute here at the Estate Bethlehem Military Compound.

The 16 soldiers trained on the Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder in teams of four with three members scoping the field with binoculars and one operating the LLDR to lock on the target. The LLDR is an actual field model outfitted for classroom use.

The CFFT is a lightweight, rapidly deployable, observed fire-training system that provides multiple simulated battlefield environments for instructing fire support specialists, joint fires observers and soldiers at the institutional and operational unit level.

The system is fielded in three primary configurations: the 1:30 (one instructor to 30 students), 1:12 and 1:4. The 210th RTI instructors use the 1:4 system configurations.

“The scenario is a simple fire for effect, where the soldiers identify the target on the battlefield, using the LLDR, they lock on to the target with the laser and then radio back to the Fire Direction Center for back up,” said Staff Sgt. Kendell Richmond, an instructor at the 210th RTI.

“In an actual battlefield, the FDC is miles away and they rely on the soldiers on the battlefield to be their eyes on the field,” Richmond explained. For training purposes the FDC is in the same room with the soldiers “in the field”; but in actuality, the FDC can be miles away.

Based on the soldiers’ observations and information they transmit to the rear, FDC chooses ammunition for maximum effectiveness.

“We are here to familiarize soldiers with providing fire support, in case they come into contact with the enemy when they’re out in the field anywhere”, said Staff Sgt. Darius George, the unit’s first sergeant.

“They could have a sense of what it feels like and the knowledge so that they could call for fire for support of their movement in case they are engaged in any combat event,” he added.

Spc. Shennique Davy, a member of the 630th QM Det., was the LLDR operator during one of the simulation trainings.

“We were here conducting battlefield firing training; it was very successful and informative, I learned a lot today,” she said.

A call for fire is a concise message prepared by the observer/soldier. It contains all information needed by the FDC to determine the method of target attack. It is a request for fire, not an order. It must be sent quickly but clearly enough that it can be understood, recorded, and read back, without error, by the FDC recorder.

• Date Taken: 11.08.2015
• Date Posted: 11.08.2015 18:14
• Story ID: 181366
• Location: ST. CROIX, VI