3rd Brigade Soldiers train with TOW

By Staff Sgt. Joel Salgado, 3rd Brigade Combat Team Public AffairsMarch 27, 2015

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1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers from D Co., 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team "Rakkasans," 101st Airborne Division, engaged simulated enemy armored vehicles with the BGM-71 Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided missile at Fort Campbell... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers from D Co., 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team "Rakkasans," 101st Airborne Division, engaged simulated enemy armored vehicles with the BGM-71 Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided missile at Fort Campbell... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team "Rakkasans," 101st Airborne Division, lit up a dreary day with the flash of rocket motors as they engaged derelict armored vehicle with the Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided missile and the Improved Target Acquisition System at Fort Campbell, Ky. March 20.

The Soldiers from 2nd Bn., 506th Inf. Reg.'s heavy weapons company conducted the training to build the unit's proficiency in providing anti-armor and anti-hardened target support to the battalion's infantry companies allowing them the freedom to conduct their mission.

"The importance of this especially the antitank capabilities is going to huge in our inventories in the future," said Staff Sgt. Corey Donnelly, the master gunner for 2nd Bn., 506th Inf. Reg. "This and Javelin are going to be a bonus for us to have qualified gunners, qualified operators and trainers, because it will literally carry on for generations in the Army to be effective with these weapon systems."

The training would be the first time many of the Soldiers would have the opportunity to conduct a live-fire of the TOW missile and would also give them a chance to employ the ITAS with the added stresses and recoil of live munitions versus the simulators normally used.

"The essence of the delta company, the heavy weapons company is to be able to employ these heavy weapons systems in order to defeat your armored enemy threats," said Capt. Damien Kuhn, the commander of D Co., 2nd Bn., 506th Inf. Reg. "The ability to put the ITAS into action and destroy armored vehicles with the TOW is really where we want to focus as much as possible is getting these guys proficient at their gunnery skills."

One of the key aspects to ensuring the Soldiers would receive the best training to prepare them to employ the TOW and other heavy weapon systems was having a master gunner on site to demonstrate the correct procedure to operate the weapon systems.

"It makes a huge difference having those SMEs (subject matter experts) available in our training," said Kuhn. "I would say having individuals with that knowledge and experience is the difference between having a successful training event and to be able to continue to train versus Soldiers being intimidated by the weapon system."

Another benefit the Soldiers gained during their training was to have SMEs on hand in the event of a weapons malfunction allowing them to understand how to react in the event a weapon malfunctioned.

"I've had flight motors fail, I've had rounds impact in places we didn't intend for them to hit," said Donnelly. "Just knowing how to handle a misfire or if a round goes out and the primary flight motor fails what do we do. With that experience I think it kept people calm and it made them aware that it's ok for those things to happen as long as we address it in the right manner."

With the training completed and a field of smoking tanks to show for it, the Soldiers and their command left the range smile on their faces and another successful training event under their belt.

"I think this is the kind of training that they are excited and I'm excited to get out and do," said Kuhn. "I think they all performed very well and you look around and you can see after they shoot those things every one of them had a smile on their face."

Related Links:

101st Airborne Division Facebook Page

3rd Brigade Combat Team "Rakkasans" Facebook Page