Mustangs share shooting principles and motivation at machine gun range

Photo By Staff Sgt. John Onuoha | YAVORIV, Ukraine - Soldiers of 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division checks Ukrainian Soldiers machine guns after a live fire during machine gun training, August 8, 2016. Mustang Soldiers instilled safety during the exercise to make sure the Ukrainians understood the importance of being disciplined while handling a weapon. Soldiers of 6-8 Cav are here training Ukrainian Soldiers in support of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine. The 3ID troopers, with their team of multinational partners, are focused on helping build a sustainable and enduring training capacity and capability within Ukrainian Ground Forces. (U.S.Army photo by Spc. John Onuoha / Released)  

YAVORIV, UKRAINE

08.08.2016

Story by Spc. John Onuoha 

2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

By Spc. John Onuoha, 6-8 Cav., 2IBCT UPAR

YAVORIV, Ukraine - Soldiers of 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd
Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division conducted machine gun training with Ukrainian soldiers from 1st Battalion, 93rd Mechanized Brigade here August 8.

Three weapon systems were used during the training exercise: the RPK (Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikov) light machine gun, PKM (Pulemyot Kalashnikov Modernized) general purpose machine gun and the AK-47 (Avtomat Kalashnikova).

The training was organized to show Ukrainians how to use their weapon effectively and shoot accurately.

According to 1st Lt. Terrance Boler, a scout platoon leader with 6-8 Cav, most people are used to just shooting their weapon and not taking the time to be on target with it. The Ukrainians want to be spot on and U.S. Soldiers are showing them how to be deadly with their weapon system.

"This training is about accuracy," Boler said. "They are using their weapon system to get right on point and engage their enemy with lethal fire. You can just shoot but if you know how to do it accurately, you do not have to worry about that threat anymore."

Soldiers talked about how impressive the Ukrainians have been with their
commitment and focus during the training.

Sgt. Travis Glass, a scout with 6-8 Cav, said the Soldiers enjoyed participating in the training and they want to do it for their country. When you look at them, they are always on the move and they want to learn something new. "There are some brand new Soldiers among the Ukrainians and you can not really tell until you ask them, because of their dedication and motivation which is just as high as the veterans in the group. They are getting better and better and our guys love it."

Motivation plays an important role on the American side as well. The Mustangs shared their motivation for the training by singing The Dogface Soldier song, it was adopted as the song of the 3rd Infantry Division.

“Before we started we got them (Ukrainian Soldiers) motivated by singing the Dog Face Soldier song,” said Boler. “They understood it was a Soldier to Soldier thing and it comes from the heart. We were singing it to show them that we are motivated and we are going to get this training going, and they were motivated.”

• Date Taken: 08.08.2016
• Date Posted: 08.13.2016 08:29
• Story ID: 207025
• Location: YAVORIV, UA