Photo By Tatum Vayavananda | During a foreign weapons familiarization, Cpl. Nicholas Porter, an Amarillo, Texas,...... read more read more
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NOVO SELO TRAINING AREA, Bulgaria – Standing behind a line of multinational forces, Lance Cpl. Steven A. Hart looks left and right to his range safety officers to ensure everything is safe for the next string of fire. His commands are echoed, in Bulgarian and Serbian, as he finally shouts “Targets!” to open up a frenzy of fire from M16A4 service rifles and AK-47 assault rifles engaging their targets.
Marines with Black Sea Rotational Force 11 got the opportunity to train with soldiers from the Bulgarian 38th Infantry Battalion, 2nd Light Infantry Brigade, and the Serbian 21st Mechanized Infantry Battalion, 2nd Brigade, in Marine Corps Combat Marksmanship Program on June 16 as part their counterinsurgency training.
The Ground Combat Element’s fourth rotation of the training came with a unique obstacle: conduct training simultaneously in three languages; English, Bulgarian and Serbian.
“We had to make a few modifications to the [shooting and immediate-action drills] because of the different [weapon systems],” said Hart, rifleman and combat marksmanship trainer with Black Sea Rotational Force 11. “Despite that, they caught on really well and surprised [us] with their shooting.”
“Hopefully, we are giving them the building blocks so they can enhance their training. It allows us to set a standard for training with the allies in this part of the world,” said Hart, a native of Lubbock, Texas.
The Bulgarian and Serbian troops were not familiar with Table 3 of the CMP, which focuses on close-quarters shooting at a distance of 25-meters or less.
“We usually practice at longer distances and this will be useful when we are in a city or small space and we don’t have [that distance],” said Bulgarian 2nd Lt. Petko Penev, platoon commander, 38th Infantry Battalion.
The range included foreign weapons familiarization where Marines swapped their M16A4 service rifles with AK-47 assault rifles and learned each other’s weapons systems.
“We haven’t done training like this before,” said Serbian Pfc. Damjan Radulovich, a rifleman with Serbian 21st Mechanized Infantry Battalion.
“I found the M16 very user-friendly to shoot and it was fun! I’m looking forward to the machine gun range next week,” he added.
The range is part of the GCE’s two-week counterinsurgency and peacekeeping operations training here to share knowledge and build military capacities with Serbia and Bulgaria.
“It feels crazy and an honor,” said Hart, “Because I love shooting and I get to share with soldiers of other countries what we’re doing.”
The Marines working with the Bulgarians and the Serbians hope to not only impart and share knowledge on combat marksmanship but to improve interoperability between nations in the Black Sea, Balkan and Caucasus region, setting a standard for training and building relationships with partner nations within and outside of NATO.
“I just got out [Combat Marksmanship Trainer’s] Course in October, and it’s a huge opportunity to meet new nations and [to know] that what I’m teaching them might make a difference in combat.”
Black Sea Rotational Force 11 is a rotational deployment of Marines to the Black Sea, Balkan and Caucasus regions to work with partner nations and help build their military capacity, promote stability throughout the region, and build enduring partnerships with 13 nations throughout Eastern Europe.
| Date Taken: | 06.20.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.20.2011 09:54 |
| Story ID: | 72419 |
| Location: | NOVO SELO TRAINING AREA, BG |
| Web Views: | 153 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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