Tuesday's Internet Edition, September 07, 2010.
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| FIRST CAV commanders believe more firing range practice will mean more confidence, fewer casualties in Iraq. – Photo by PAUL ANDERSON |
Leader-Press - CAMP UDAIRI, Kuwait – A challenge has been issued for soldiers with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cav to fire a record number of bullets at the firing range prior to traveling to Baghdad.
Colonel Abe Abrams told his battalion commanders that he wants to use up 600,000 rounds of ammunition; more specifically, 5.56mm bullets like the ones used in M-16 rifles. That doesn’t even include the mortars, grenades, artillery or tank ammunition.
Abrams said the additional training will result in fewer American casualties. “Absolutely, because soldiers are now more confident that they can handle their weapon. They can hit what they aim at. They’re confident that their weapon system will function in this environment. And they’re more confident in their unit because their buddies at the left and at the right are gaining the same confidence. It also sends a message to civilians and adversaries that they are a disciplined unit; they know how to use their weapons and aren’t afraid to use them.”
Lower-ranking soldiers echo that sentiment. The catch phrase seems to be “confidence.”
“Carrying them (the soldier’s weapon) with confidence does not give the appearance of a soft target. So people will be less likely to shoot at them,” said First Lieutenant Mitchell McCann, who is an officer in charge of a firing range. “Bullies don’t pick on someone who looks like they can handle themselves.”
Prior to deployment to Iraq, an infantryman would have shot 100 rounds a year to qualify on his weapon. A non-combat soldier would shoot half that number.
The brigade is made up of approximately 3,400 soldiers. In a normal year, that brigade would shoot, at the absolute extreme, 340,000 rounds of ammunition. Now the Army has nearly doubled that number, and the bullets have to be fired within the two weeks the brigade is stationed at Camp Udairi.
According to Abrams, the ammunition is not being wasted. He says the practice will better prepare his soldiers for what they could experience once they’re in a combat zone. “It’s just like sports,” said the Brigade Commander. “The more you train, the better you’re going to be. Just training once a year didn’t give our soldiers enough confidence to perform at the level they need to be at in this environment.”
The increased level of preparedness is a direct result of the March 23, 2003 capture of Private First Class Jessica Lynch by hostile Iraqi soldiers. A member of the 507th maintenance company, Lynch admitted that she froze and didn’t fire a shot in self-defense.
The Army determined that Lynch’s training was probably not stringent enough. To assure that doesn’t happen again, the Army issued orders that non-combat soldiers (cooks, clerks, postal workers, etc.) would have to become more proficient with their weapons.
Private First Class Joseph Campbell, 18, is a medic. He agrees with the decision. “We’re non-combative but need to know how to fire for protection of ourselves, our patients and our units,” said Campbell. “Any practice we get is well-needed. We’re out here fighting a war. Triggers are bound to be pulled, so it’s important we’re confident.”
The extra practice gives novices like Campbell a better-than-basic training on their weapon. Non-combative soldiers are also put through “live fire training” exercises. During this practice they are exposed to, among other things, pop-up targets that the soldier has to distinguish between friend and foe prior to firing their weapon.
For the infantryman, their practice now goes beyond the advanced training they’d previously experienced.
When most soldiers train with live ammunition back at Fort Hood, they’re not wearing body armor and are watched closely by a non-commissioned officer. A shot isn’t fired unless it is approved by the NCO. Abrams describes it as “Training naked.”
In the Kuwaiti desert, preparing for deployment to Iraq, the soldiers are less restricted and the training is more realistic.
“Every soldier needs to be a rifleman. They need to be able to do their jobs, but – push come to shove – they have to be able to protect themselves when someone is coming at them,” said McCann.