Photo By Staff Sgt. Malcolm Cohens-Ashley | Soldiers assigned to Hardrock and Bulldog Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry...... read more read more
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MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, Romania -- Soldiers assigned to Hardrock and Bulldog Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), conduct Air Assault Operations in conjunction with a Support by Fire (SBF) Live Fire Exercise (LFX) at Babadag Training Area, Romania, Aug 29, 2022.
To remain a ready force, 1-502nd Infantry Regiment Soldiers maintain readiness through repetition and weapons proficiency.
“From my point of view its great training for the weapons squad leaders, for the new gunners who haven’t had much trigger time,” stated Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Baecker, an infantryman and platoon sergeant assigned to Hardrock Company. “They’re getting out here and being able to acquire targets, pull the trigger and manipulate their traverse and elevations while their assistant gunners are giving them distance and direction to those targets.”
The training started with Air Assault operations consisting of a squad sized element conducting movement in a UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter, then coming in to land to begin their maneuver towards their objective. Although the training was intense, many Soldiers seemed to have enjoyed the Air Assault leading into the training.
“My favorite part was the Air Assault, just because it’s always fun being in a helicopter,” remarked Pfc. Brandon Barron, an infantryman assigned to Bravo Company. “It’s always good training to be able to get on, get off and do it all quickly.”
Once they landed they immediately began to pull security until the UH-60 was cleared, then they started movement to their fighting positions. After a low crawling up to their positions, they were ready to engage their targets.
“We did so many iterations, it just became a mental thing,” stated Barron. “You just know what to do and when to do it, so when it came down to the real thing, we’d be spot on with it.”
Once the mission was complete, the weapons squads and the evaluators conducted an after action review to understand what they did well and what was needed to improve operation readiness.
“Today went fairly well, we’ve been doing this all week, practicing it, but there’s always things we could be working on,” said Barron. “There were a few critiques we were given, but we can always get better the next time we do it.”
During the previous week, both companies conducted weapons drills and qualification on the M4, M249 and the M240. Many of those involved in the training saw the improvement between the weeks of training, which helped lead to success during the SBF LFX.
“From day one to now, there’s been a large improvement on all weapons squads from the gunners through the weapons squad leaders,” remarked Baecker. “When it comes to doctrinal terms, target reference points and utilizing their weapons systems and gun drills.”
With these strides made in only a week’s time, the Soldiers of 1-502nd Infantry Regiment sharpen their unit’s mentality and prepare themselves for Bi-lateral training with other U.S. Forces as well as Joint Interoperability with NATO partners and allies.
| Date Taken: | 09.01.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 09.01.2022 11:46 |
| Story ID: | 428501 |
| Location: | MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, RO |
| Hometown: | HOUSTON, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 222 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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