Fires coordination exercise develops junior officers, builds cohesive tank crews

Courtesy Photo | Tank Commander 2nd Lt. Chuka Ufomadu and Spc. Carlos Jimenez, gunner, survey the battlefield during a fires coordination exercise, September 18, in the Fort Stewart Training Area. Inside the tank are Pfc. Jason Galvan, loader; and Pvt. Christopher Kukich. The crew is assigned to B Company, 1-64th Armor Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team. (U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Nickoles Smith, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team)  

FORT STEWART, GA, UNITED STATES

09.19.2019

Story by Staff Sgt. Todd Pouliot 

50th Public Affairs Detachment

The Desert Rogues of 1st Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, have a saying, “Get better every day”. It is a catchphrase that affirms the motivation and commitment the unit has for getting the most out of training opportunities.

In preparation for upcoming platoon live-fire exercises, 1-64th Armor Bn., conducted a fire coordination exercise, September 18-20, focused on developing its platoon leaders to be effective leaders on the battlefield.

“This is a leaders validation for live fire,” said Lt. Col. Alex Perez-Cruz, commander of 1-64th Armor Bn. “It allows platoon leaders to understand how to integrate all war-fighting functions and ensures that they understand how to use all the resources that are at their disposal.”

For this exercise, those resources included M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, machine guns, mortars, and howitzers. Platoon leaders used what they had learned from several months of weekly officer professional development sessions to position each weapon system and to maneuver to an objective.

“We’re learning how to synchronize and layer fires and be able to work with all the different enablers and assets available as a tank commander, “ said 2nd Lt. Chuka Ufomadu, an armor officer and platoon leader assigned to 1-64th Armor Bn. “We had to figure a lot of things out on the fly which is very important for mission success.”

Platoon leaders were tasked with maneuvering their assets toward an objective using proper cover of movement techniques. Upon reaching pre-determined phase lines, platoon leaders called for indirect fires from 120mm mortar teams to suppress the enemy on the objective. At the final phase line, within sight of the objective, platoon leaders used their direct fire weapon systems to destroy the enemy.

Although the focus of the exercise was validating the capabilities of platoon leaders, the training provided crucial opportunities for growth for their Noncommissioned Officers and Soldiers as well.

“My crew benefitted a lot,” Ufomadu said. “I learned a lot about my platoon just from spending time with them in the field. It definitely helps us become a more cohesive team. We get to know each other a little better, and understand each other’s temperaments.”

Spc. Carlos Jimenez, a tank crewman assigned to 1-64th Armor Bn., was responsible for ensuring his tank was properly maintained leading up to the exercise, and that his crew is physically and mentally ready to fight.

“As long as we remember our training and we’re in the right mentality; cool, calm, and collected; we’re going to be alright and accomplish the mission,” Jimenez said. “I feel confident. We work effectively as a team. It’s good to get out in the field and train and build cohesion among the Soldiers.”

Ufomadu is confident, too.

“It’s only going to get better from here,” he said. “We wrote down the areas we need improvement in, and also areas we need to sustain. So we’ll make those improvements for subsequent runs and keep improving on what we are already good at.”

For Perez-Cruz, his platoon leaders and their crews are meeting the goal of getting better every day.

“I’m super proud,” said Perez-Cruz. “We’re improving every day. These Soldiers are showing what it means to be a Rock of the Marne Soldier.”

• Date Taken: 09.19.2019
• Date Posted: 09.27.2019 11:30
• Story ID: 344122
• Location: FORT STEWART, GA, US