OC/Ts practice planning live fire exercises

FORT STEWART, GA, UNITED STATES

12.02.2016

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Stephanie Widemond 

2nd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade

Fort Stewart, Georgia – The observer/coach trainers of 188th Infantry Brigade, 1st Army Division East, coach, teach and mentor National Guard and Reserve Soldiers during annual training exercises in order to help them maintain readiness should the nation call upon the citizen-Soldiers. These OC/Ts prepare for the two-week annual training exercises months in advance so that the part-time soldiers the best training experience possible. Part of this mission includes setting up lanes.
“The OCs have to be able to look at the National Guard range or their plans for ranges and let them know ahead of time whether or not what they’re planning to do makes sense,” said Master Sgt. Michael Cook , Charlie Team non-commissioned officer in charge, 1st Battalion, 306th Infantry Regiment. He said the oversight saves the guard time and any frustrations in the future.
Cook provided 35 Soldiers from 1-306th; 4-306th Brigade Engineer Battalion; and 5-306th Brigade Support Battalion, with a class on planning a live fire range. Students learned what it takes to set up maneuver operations for both mounted and dismounted operations in the field. Part of the training took place in the classroom, but to get a real understanding of the planning requirements, Soldiers went out to the range.
“Things look different on the ground. They are out there to actually look at the range on the ground and try to plan their own live fire exercise. They then will come back and brief their plan to the trainers and the command team,” he said. Before getting to the range, the site visit was coordinated with Fort Stewart Range Control Operations and the facility managers.
“Range control and us need to track who is on the footprint because some areas are open for hunting,” said Mr. Lauria Meadows, Fort Stewart East facility manager.
Fort Stewart occupies more than 200-thousand acres of training area and Mr. Meadows oversees more than 130-thousand acres. Meadows and Ken Turner, live fire operations supervisor, provided support prior to the students showing up and developing their concept of fire.
“For a maneuver exercise, there must be an onsite walk-through,” he said. The walk-through helped the students visualize surface danger zones (SDZs) and weapons danger zones (WDZs). In the classroom, they used range management software to create the zones. These zones depicted areas where weapons are fired and helped to minimize the risk of damage or injury to equipment and Soldiers. Safety when planning a range is critical in Fort Stewart’s shared environment.
“Making sure everything is safe and minimizing the danger zones and maximizing the maneuver area is necessary because you want to make sure units are able to maneuver safely and not have their movements restricted,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jesse Queck, 1-306th mortar OC/T. He taught a class on indirect fire surface danger zone, going over the planning considerations based on the weapons systems being used.
“In addition to safety, the teams met on the range to brief their logistical support, MEDEVAC operations, and execution plans by walking through each engagement and discussing the planning considerations for each,” said Lt. Col. Paul Grant, 1-306th's commander. He stated that the teams' briefings were detailed, including where the OC/Ts would stand.
“The OC/Ts will be better prepared to coach their National Guard and Reserve counterparts during upcoming engagements,” Grant said. He continued, stating that the 188th senior NCOs have more knowledge to pass on and are in the best position to develop and refine LFX plans to make training safer and more realistic at their next unit.

• Date Taken: 12.02.2016
• Date Posted: 12.09.2016 10:55
• Story ID: 217042
• Location: FORT STEWART, GA, US