NY National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade closing the distance between Soldiers and snipers with Army’s new rifle

Photo By Avery Schneider | Smoke clears from the chamber of an M110 A1 Squad Designated Marksman Rifle fired by Spc. Steven Monnat, an infantryman assigned to the New York National Guard's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment, during new equipment training at Fort Drum, New York, November 5. Monnat was among 30 Soldiers from the battalion's higher headquarters, the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, learned to operate the SDMR and close the gap between the reach of a rifleman and a sniper's weapons. (U.S. National Guard Photo by Maj. Avery Schneider)(U.S. National Guard Photo by Maj. Avery Schneider)  

FORT DRUM, NY, UNITED STATES

11.06.2021

Story by Avery Schneider 

New York National Guard

FORT DRUM, New York — Across the New York Army National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Soldiers are closing the gap between the reach of the basic Soldier and the highly-trained sniper with the Army’s Squad Designated Marksman Rifle.

During two days of new equipment training, 30 of the brigade’s Soldiers from New York and Massachusetts learned to operate and maintain the new rifle, and gained combat skills they’ll bring home to their units.

Known by its Army nomenclature as the M110 A1, the SDMR is a 7.62 millimeter rifle manufactured by Heckler & Koch Defense Inc. It comes equipped with a Sig Sauer Tango6 optic, as well as a special buttstock and suppressor.

“It feels like this weapon and me belong together,” said Cpl. Luis Alvarez, an infantryman assigned to Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 182nd Infantry Regiment.

Alvarez is one of the first two Soldiers in his company to get his hands on the new weapon. He’s been interested in firearms since he was fifteen and learned to shoot pistols and rifles with his family, and said the SDMR is a natural fit.

In the class, Alvarez and the other students were taught each of the SDMR’s features, how to disassemble and reassemble the weapon, and how to fire it. He also learned new skills, like understanding the impact of wind and elevation on firing over longer ranges.

Then the Soldiers spent a day on the sniper range at Fort Drum putting those skills into practice against paper and steel targets.

The weapon has been fielded in the active duty Army for a couple of years, but has only made its way to a handful of the 54 state and territory National Guard commands.

“[The SDMR] was developed to fill the gap between the rifleman and a sniper,” explained David Beesley, a training specialist with the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Armaments Command, and lead instructor for the new equipment training.

“The rifleman shoots out to 300 meters effectively. We needed something to get between that three and 600 meter gap so that we don’t necessarily have to rely on a sniper for those long shots.”

Beesley said, on a good day, a Soldier equipped with the SDMR can shoot as far as 800 meters.

For Sgt. Johnathan Harris, a cavalry scout assigned to Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment, who normally fires the M4 carbine or M2 machine gun, the SDMR comes with other advantages, too.

“We don’t have to carry as much equipment for surveillance, because we have a six-time zoom on our rifle. And it has night vision, too,” he said.

Both Alvarez and Harris intend to bring the lessons they learned back to their units. And Harris doesn’t think it will be a hard skill to sell.

After all, he said, “Who doesn’t want to hit targets from further?”

• Date Taken: 11.06.2021
• Date Posted: 11.06.2021 21:15
• Story ID: 408820
• Location: FORT DRUM, NY, US
• Hometown: CANANDAIGUA, NY, US
• Hometown: TAUNTON, MA, US