1-32 IN Conducts Live-Fire Exercise

Photo By Staff Sgt. Tiffany Banks | Soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment conduct marksmanship training during a live fire exercise, July 12, on Fort Drum, N.Y. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Tiffany Banks.)  

FORT DRUM, NY, UNITED STATES

07.17.2019

Story by Pfc. Tiffany Banks 

27th Public Affairs Detachment

Soldiers from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, conducted a platoon live fire exercise, July 10 through July 13 at Fort Drum, N.Y., that focused on quality repetitions with a high operational tempo, on Fort Drum, NY.
"You can just do one mediocre rep and say you've completed the training objective, but out here, by the time everything is said and done, they're going to have done 15 reps out here," said Capt. Joseph Cruz, commander, Company A, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment.
Cruz goes on to explain, the goal is to make sure the training event successfully trains his Soldiers by maintaining quality through repetition.
"That's what we want to do out here--guys doing consistently good, to make them great," said Cruz.
The platoon live fire allowed Soldiers to train on marksmanship, anti-tank weapon systems, automatic weapon systems, M320 grenade launchers and mortars.
"We provide indirect fire for the platoons moving on to the objective," said Staff Sergeant Carlos Camacho, Company A, section sergeant, who led mortar fire during the training exercise.
The exercise allows multiple assets from the company to work in unison, Camacho explained. The mortars suppress the enemy on the objective, allowing the engineers to create an entrance for infantryman to seize the objective.
The company-level training also validates that team leaders, squad leaders, platoon leaders and platoon sergeants can conduct a platoon live-fire exercise successfully.
Camacho also said that the exercise gives him the opportunity to train his new squad leader along with other junior-enlisted Soldiers to successfully emplace and fire mortars.
"I'm trying to teach them easier ways to do their jobs, to be faster and more effective down range where the rounds are landing," said Camacho.
This company exercise will prepare the unit for a brigade-level exercise later this month.

• Date Taken: 07.17.2019
• Date Posted: 07.17.2019 12:58
• Story ID: 331772
• Location: FORT DRUM, NY, US