Photo By Sgt. Jon Heinrich | A Soldier with 545th Transportation Company, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, fires a...... read more read more
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Story and photos by Sgt. Jon Heinrich, 8th TSC Public Affairs
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – The crew of the 545th Transportation Company, 8th Theater Sustainment Command’s Logistical Support Vessel-2, the CW3 Harold C. Clinger, conducted weapons training miles of the coast of Oahu, Hawaii, May 16.
The Soldiers trained with M249 squad automatic weapons, M2 .50 caliber machine guns and the M203 and M320 grenade launchers to become more familiar with their crew-served weapons in a waterborne environment, where targets are further away and rolling conditions make stationary targets into moving targets, according to Chief Warrant Officer 2 Juan Miranda, the third mate for LSV-2.
“It was exciting, and it was nice to have the opportunity to be able to fire even though I wasn’t scheduled to,” said Pvt. Brittany Richard, an administrative clerk with 545th Trans. Co. who is transitioning to a watercraft operator. “It’s difficult because your target’s moving, and then you’re moving as well, and it was harder to aim. It was still fun, and it was a nice experience to get.”
In order to conduct the training, the crew had to sail miles out into the ocean to the Navy’s Special Operating Area 4, a designated weapons training area the Navy monitors to allow vessels to fire weapons without interference from other boats or aircraft.
“If there was a vessel that was crossing through this path, then they would give us a call,” Miranda said, “as opposed to being somewhere where it’s not controlled and a vessel could pop up out of nowhere or a low-flying aircraft could get in our way.”
Soldiers fired each weapon at a biodegradable, orange, inflatable target on the surface of the water, taking turns firing from both starboard and port sides of the vessel with the exact same weapon system mounted.
Accompanying the crew in their training were a few civilian logistics assistance representatives, each having a different specialty to support the training, such as weapons and medical assistance.
Although the training went well, Miranda said he would like to see more realistic training in the future by using moving or remote-controlled targets for the Soldiers to react to.
“Overall it’s really good training,” Miranda said. “Everybody’s familiar with their weapons and it helps us stay fully mission capable.”
| Date Taken: | 05.16.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 05.17.2016 22:22 |
| Story ID: | 198412 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 154 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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