12th CAB conducts dual door gunnery during aerial gunnery.

Photo By Sgt. Justin Ashaw | 1-214th Aviation Regiment and 1-3rd Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, flying together and qualifying during Aerial Gunnery, Grafenwöhr Training Area on July 20. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Justin Ashaw)  

BY, GERMANY

07.24.2020

Story by Spc. Hunter Garcia 

12th Combat Aviation Brigade

GRAFENWOHR, Germany - U.S. Soldiers with the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) participate in dual door gunnery during aerial gunnery on Grafenwohr Training Area, Germany, July 24, 2020.

Lt. Col. Matthew L. McGraw, 1-214th General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB) commander, explained what typical aerial gunneries involve and talked about how dual door gunneries are different.

“A typical gunnery iteration involves us moving between two separate ranges and firing out of only one side of the helicopter at a time,” he said. “Once they pass that phase and they’re ready to do a more complicated aerial assault. We augment them with Apaches, a Shadow, and mix up the aircraft. Then design a route where both the left and right gunners remain engaged throughout the entire air assault process.”

McGraw then talked about how dual door gunnery created a more realistic tactical environment.

“By doing dual door gunnery, it allows me to keep my left door and right door gunner engaged in a tactical scenario throughout the... air assault process,” he said. “

McGraw further said that this was the first dual door gunnery training to happen in Europe.

“Dual door in Germany has not happened… ever,” he said. “ this was the first iteration that the 1-214th has accomplished.”

• Date Taken: 07.24.2020
• Date Posted: 08.09.2020 13:22
• Story ID: 375576
• Location: BY, DE