5th AR Trains Sailors in Marksmanship, Live Fire

By Staff Sgt. Robert L. Baker, 1st Battalion, 360th Infantry Regiment, 5th Armor

Soldiers in Division West's 5th Armored Brigade recently trained Joint Warfighters from U.S. Naval Detachment 10341 in Short Range Marksmanship and Team Live Fire.

Short Range Marksmanship consists of techniques essential to successful operations in an urban warfare environment, proper firing stances, movement, weapon orientation, magazine changes, transitional firing and selector switch manipulation. The Sailors accomplished these tasks by firing at a variety of targets and distances with deadly and accurate fire.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Michael Pace, U.S. Naval Detachment 10341, receives final instructions from Sgt. 1st Class Stephen Slavich, an observer controller/trainer with 1-360th Infantry Battalion, 5th Armored Brigade, Division West, before beginning the Short Range Marksmanship range at McGregor Base Camp, N.M. Photo: Staff Sgt. Robert L. Baker, 1st Battalion, 360th Infantry Regiment, 5th Armored Brigade, Division West

"The training at Fort Bliss is geared towards tactical shooting, utilizing moving targets, which is different from how we normally train," said Senior Chief Petty Officer Michael Pace, Detachment 10341 commander.

Upon successful completion of the Short Range Marksmanship training, the Naval Detachment moved to another range to conduct a Team Live Fire exercise. During this exercise, the Sailors moved in buddy teams while firing on targets. At Range 5, teams of four Warfighters learned to perform a movement-to-contact drill and leaders learned to control the movement of two teams.

"The Team Live Fire event on Range 5 is conducted after a unit has successfully validated on the (Short Range Marksmanship) task facilitated on Range 8. This happens because Range 5 allows Joint Warfighters to incorporate skills learned on the previous range," said Staff Sgt. Eric Hammer, an observer controller/trainer with 5th AR Brigade. "Upon completion of the two training events, Joint Warfighters have a greater sense of confidence with their ability to effectively employ their weapons systems."

A Sailor with U.S. Naval Detachment 10341 engages targets at McGregor Base Camp, N.M., during training conducted by Division West's 5th Armored Brigade Oct. 19. Photo by Staff Sgt. Robert L. Baker, 1st Battalion, 360th Infantry Regiment, 5th Armored Brigade, Division West