Photo By Spc. Nathan Goodall | Sgt. Eric Johnson, a team leader with 3/4 Infantry, 170th IBCT, fires his M4 from...... read more read more
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany – A squad of Soldiers move carefully in two columns up a path towards the top of a hill. Their spacing between each other is formed perfectly to cover every sector around them. Their heads turn back and forth, looking for any possible threat.
It's calm outside. Sunlight bathes the forest in rich warmth and birds are chirping amongst the trees. As the soldiers in front reach the top of the hill, the calm is broken. They drop to a steady position and raise their rifles, screaming to the rest of the squad that enemy contact has been made.
The back of the squad forms a tactical position as the Soldiers in front open fire on a group of replicated hostile threats that present themselves in the distance. With steady precision, the threats are eliminated. The squad jumps into action, securing the area.
Infantrymen with the 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team conducted live fire exercises as part of the 170th's weapons qualification density here in April. The Soldiers were training on individual, team, squad and platoon level tactics in order to prepare themselves for combat missions during future deployments.
"Preparation for this started a long time ago when we first started doing basic rifle marksmanship and qualifying with the weapon systems," said Staff Sgt. Geoffrey Comer, a Huntsville, Ala., native, now a squad leader with C Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 170th IBCT.
At the base-level of an effective fighting force are qualified Soldiers working together as a four-man fire team.
"This is the building block that everything above it is based on," said Capt. Michael Filanoski, the company commander for C Company, 3/4 Infantry. "This is the first step in a company live fire exercise, making sure we have this first building block right."
If a fire team takes its time to do things right, the team will be more prepared to perform the mission, said Sgt. Eric Johnson, a team leader with C Company, 3/4 Infantry. As a team leader, Johnson said his job is to keep his Soldiers calm and focused on the tasks at hand.
Live fire exercises provide members of an Infantry fire team a unique opportunity to earn the coveted trust of their teammates, said Pfc. Herron Huston, a grenadier with C Company, 3/4 Infantry.
After Soldiers qualify as a fire team, they work together with another team to conduct a squad live fire exercise. While the manpower is greater, the fundamentals are the same.
"It's the foundation," said 1st. Lt. Eric Kiser, a platoon leader with C Company, 3/4 Infantry. "If you have two fire teams in a squad that are able to execute the mission, you have a squad that's able to execute the mission. If you have three squads in a platoon that are able to execute the mission, you have a platoon that can execute the mission."
The squad live fire exercises that A Company, 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 170th IBCT performed here were the next level in the Infantrymen's preparation for combat.
"You definitely have to go over the mental planning first," said Pfc. Roman Ignatenkov, a team leader with A Company, 2/18 Infantry. "You've got to visually see what's going on, you've got to be visually aware of the men to the left and right of you. If you have all of this down in your mind first, you'll be able to execute it correctly, because the best weapon is right here in your head. That's what it all starts with."
The squad goes over the scenario mentally and visually by creating diagrams and running through the course with blanks. This helps the Soldiers understand what their role is in the team and in the squad, said Ignatenkov.
The experience of using a weapon with live rounds teaches Soldiers how to operate with live ammo around teammates.
"Since we're out here training on a range, the number one thing you've got to concentrate on is safety, beyond anything else," said Ignatenkov.
While the live fire exercise itself helps the Soldiers learn to work and communicate together, one of the biggest things Soldiers get to practice is preparation.
"It all begins with basic planning," said Pvt. Matthew Hopkins, a team leader with A Company, 2/18 Infantry. "We know where we're gonna move, where to expect some sort of enemy, and how to react to any type of contact."
After planning ahead, Soldiers prepare their arms and equipment. Testing communication radios and checking the quality of required gear is a necessary step in preparing for the mission. Pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections are crucial to ensuring that the Soldiers' weapons are functional and fit for the job, said Hopkins.
Conducting live fire exercises shows Infantrymen how to prepare for, work together and complete a mission as a unit.
"Team and squad live fires, teach the team and the squad how to work together as a team and as a squad," said Comer. "Each person starts to fully understand his role when we do it at full speed."
"It's just going over and over it," said Pvt. Armando Cantu, a Houston native, now a rifleman with A Company, 2/18 Infantry. "Live fire exercises are something we need so we can keep it in our muscle memory. So, when we get deployed we already know what we're doing."
| Date Taken: | 04.22.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.30.2010 02:59 |
| Story ID: | 48912 |
| Location: | GRAFENWOEHR, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Web Views: | 555 |
| Downloads: | 283 |
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