ADANA, Turkey - The Delta Diamondbacks have focused this week on weapons familiarization, qualifications and post Table VIII equipment deep maintenance operations.
The soldiers have been hard at work with weapons familiarization and recently had great success at the M203 range. Two of the three firers from the battery who attended the M203 range qualified expert with the last firer qualifying sharpshooter. In addition, the battery focused on preliminary marksmanship instruction (PMI to prepare for the upcoming battalion range density. Diamondback soldiers accomplished this through training on the M16, M249, and Mk-19 weapons systems. A good Mk-19 weapons familiarization and block of instruction was provided by the Delta Battery armorer, Sgt. Arenz.
It included assembly, PMCS, proper operation, as well as safety checks and procedures in the event of equipment malfunctions. Fellow noncommissioned officers who attended the training also showed their tactical knowledge and, in cooperation with Sgt. Arenz, executed a successful training mission.
The execution of deep maintenance operations over the past week was crucial to helping the battery ensure all the equipment got the care it needed. A good deep PMCS of vehicles by the diligent efforts of Delta soldiers was conducted under the supervision and coaching of freshly retrained noncommissioned officers via the “train the trainer” course the previous week. Additionally, the PMCS efforts were instrumental in the well executed convoy and convoy briefing, which was administered by Cadet Glover.
The noncommissioned officers of Delta Battery had the privilege of attending a briefing provided by Command Sgt. Maj. Jefferies that offered great insight and answered numerous questions with very direct to-the-point answers. Having attended, many of the noncommissioned officers walked away with a great deal of knowledge of what’s going on in the Army and what they can expect, as well as information to share with subordinates to provide them with expectations for the future.
Over the past week, Diamondback soldiers continued to earn accolades that set them apart from their peers. Additionally over the last week, the battery promoted Pfc. Graham to specialist and both Staff Sgt. Garrett and Sgt. Saunier re-enlisted, providing the Battery with two experienced noncommissioned officers that will remain with the Diamondback team.