Monthly Archives: April 2006

Range 49

The infamous range 49 turned into one of the most sour moments in this training cycle. Range 49 is where we went to qualify on our M4 rifles with our optic sights. We qualified with our standard handle-based iron sights when we first got here. However, we have been pushing to shoot with the M69 Close Combat Optics and ACOG scopes that were issued to us and that request was finally filled. On Good Friday we went to the zero range at first light. The entire team ZEROed their backup iron sights and their optics pretty quickly. Due to the advantages of the optics everyone was knocking the center out of their targets fairly easily, which they should since these things makes a soldier much more accurate. After the zero range, we drove down to range 49 to qualify on Day fire, NBC (with our gas mask on), and night fire.

Range 49 appeared as a nicely laid out range when we pulled up and I truly thought that we would have 50% of the team qualify experts and we would be out of there quick. The lanes were all easy to see like a A-1 Brunswick bowling alley. What we could not see what the terrible shape that the targets were in. Before we shot, we heard of guys shooting in the teens or single digits, and I remember thinking â€œwow these guys are ate up, how can they not qualifyâ€. By the way, it takes a minimum of 23 targets being hit out of 40 to be qualified. The next order had 9 of us from the team in it. I was amazed while shooting at the targets that were not following when I hit them. I could seen the 50 meter target move when I shot it but it did not drop. When we all assembled at the base of the tower to hear scores, you could have knocked me over with a feather. Out of 16 shooters, 2 qualified. These were guys, including myself that have been shooting their whole military careers (which is average more than 15 years). My score was sickening, and I was pissed. I had one guy that is a police sniper that barely qualified, and another that is a Army trained sniper that did not qualify. It was like that all day long. The average number of people to qualify on every 16 man interation was 2. The average number of times it took people to shoot was 3 times. It was a terrible day for soldiers on that range. Here they are, most of them, shooting with optics for the first time and their confidence in going in the toilet. Soldiers start complaining about the optics and going back to iron sights, some are throwing helmets, and almost all are cussing at the range.

The guys with the 4 power ACOG sights looked at the targets and could see big holes of light shining through them from the number of rounds put dead center. See, when you give a soldier this high-speed, super-accurate optic then he is going to hit dead center. When you have so many people, shooting so accurately, then it just gets knocked to heck. I guess they thought it was cheaper to have soldiers sit out there all day and waste bullets downrange, then just replace the targets and be done with it. Since we are on a compressed timeline, every day is crucial as we are leaving so soon. The last thing we have time to do is waste time. Donâ€™t get me wrong, we love to shoot, and I would have loved to sit out there all day and keep shooting, but I want accurate feedback and not have to shoot at the lower right or left corners of every target to try and make it drop because that is the only spot that is not shot out.

Even the first time I shot NBC fire I only hit 4 targets out of 20 and those were all at 50 meters. When I shot NBC the second time, I got 16 out of 20 and the only reason I missed 4 was because I was shooting around the target to find a spot that would register a hit. On the night fire some of my guys saw the tracer ember burning in the target, but the target would not go down. So this means the round when through the target, and part of the chemical that burns stuck to the target as proof, but the target stayed up.

So as it turned out, Good Friday was not that good at all. By the end of the day, we finally had 15 of the 16 qualified, and only one guy had to go back the next morning. Luckily they went to a different range and by 0830 he was qualified and back to us so he could go enjoy his Aaster weekend.

â€¦.and that is the story of the Range 49 fiasco.

Troy

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Easter Weekend

Well, today is Sunday (EASTER) and we are all back in our barracks after enjoying a relaxing two days after a stressful last week. The 6 days before Good Friday was training all day and every night with very little time to recoup. We did CLS training (as mentioned in other entry), and we also did Up-armored HUMVEE drivers training in the evening. On Friday we were at the M4 range all day, but I will talk about that in another BLOG entry. Anyway, it was a tough week and it was nice getting away. About 8 guys took off late Friday night and went to the Isle of Capri Casino in Gulfport. One guy went to Orlando to meet up with his family, and I went to Helena AR to see my parents and other family that live near there. 5 guys stayed at Shelby and just relaxed here all weekend.

I picked up my rental car at 9AM on Saturday and headed north. I had about a 4 Â½ drive from Hattiesburg, MS to Helena AR. I enjoyed the drive to unwind and to catch up on some calls with buddies I have talked to in a while. I also spent quite a bit of time talking to Christine on Saturday. I pulled into Mom and Dadâ€™s driveway right about 2:30PM, and everyone was across the street and Aunt Aâ€™s house waiting one me so they could eat. They had food everywhere and I swear they tried to kill me with food. There was so much of it and it was all so good. Later on after we ate, we made the required pilgrimage to Wal-mart, which is always required when visiting Helena. I also knocked out some laundry while at Momâ€™s and her and I did some sewing that I needed to get done. That night we played Dominoes for about 90 minutes and then people were ready to go to bed. Mom, Dad and I went back across the street to their place and Dad and I watched a movie while Mom played on her computer. This morning we got up and went across the street to Aunt Aâ€™s to have some awesome Christmas scramble for breakfast. After Breakfast Dad took me down to Gingerâ€™s place so I could see her restaurant. If you are ever in Helena, that is the place to eat.

After we got back, we mostly sat around and visited and talked about a variety of subjects. I was able to spend some great quality time with Granny. She is 93 and limited in what she can do now a days. I was glad that I was able to spend some great one on one time with her. I also talked to my Uncle Jim on the phone, my cousin Vanessa (who was in FL on business) and later my Aunt Zada. This afternoon I left about 2:30 PM, which gave me an exact 24 hours on the ground in Helena. I would have really liked more time there for visiting family and hopefully some friends, but it is what it is and that time was not available.

I got on the road and made my way back to Camp Shelby, getting in about 7:30 PM. I have been hearing all the great party stories from Gulfport and getting my stuff unpacked.

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Combat Lifesaver Class

We have spent the last three nights attending Combat Lifesaver Class, also known as CLS. A CLS person is the Army’s way to supplement units with above average medical training since medics cannot always be everywhere and at every location. Typically in a regular unit, there are 1-2 CLS trained soldiers per squad. Due to the unique nature of our team and our mission, everyone has to be qualified as CLS. This is because that one many missions there will only be two members of the team there as the only americans. The rest will be Aghans. So if one gets injured, the other guy has to know how to patch him up or get him out of there on a medevac if needed.

I have sent many a soldier to CLS over my years in the Army, but have never had the chance to go myself. I have learned some of the tasks in the past. One of these tasks is the administering of an IV. The IV part of the class, is the pinnacle and what the class is known for. Everybody sticks, and everyone gets stuck. If you mess your buddy up, he may mess you up when it is your turn to get stuck. When I was in the 1/501st, we routinely practiced giving IVs, even though not everyone has went to the school. This training back then, along with a lot of other medical training I received in the Army made CLS pretty easy. This CLS class seemed to have a little more than what I expected. I asked a few guys that went to CLS just over a year ago how this one compared. The same response from everyone was the same, that this one taught a lot more advnaced stuff than they used to teach. There are some things like the insertion of a Nasopharygenal Airway Tube and the application of a Tension Pneumothorax relief after a collapsed lung due to a chest injury. It looks like they are updaing CLS based on lessons learned from the current on-going wars.

So of course, the last thing you do in this class is take a written test and then administer an IV. I teamed up with CPT TH for the IV and I am glad I did. He went to CLS about 13 months ago himself and I have given 5-7 IVs in my past, so both of our sticks were clean and pretty painless. We both had good sticks and did it the first time. There are more pics in the Photos section of this website.

So overall, it was very good training and besides combatives probably some of the best training we have received.

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New Address

Since we are now going earlier than planned and are no longer in the 41st BCT, we have a new address. The old would should work too, but this is the new one and really should be used.