FORT STEWART, Ga. - Soldiers with the South Carolina National Guard, 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade conducted sectional-level gunnery training during their annual training, April 2017.
Approximately 500 Soldiers assigned to the 4-118th Combined Arms Battalion (CAB) conducted the training to prepare for the Army National Guard's eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) rotation next year in Idaho. Additionally, the following year, the 4-118th CAB will ramp up their training for a rotation at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California.
U.S. Army 1st Lt. Josh Taylor, 4-118th CAB, Company D platoon leader, explained, the M1A1-SA Abrams sectional-level gunnery training consisted of two tank teams that navigate a range scenario at the same time, and the success of the mission largely depends on command and control by the section leader. Each team in an Abrams tank consists of a tank commander, loader, gunner, and driver and their performance can be influenced by a number of factors, such as how well they rehearsed and the communication among the individual team members while navigating the scenario.
"Sectional gunnery is exciting because we get to work together in teams," said Taylor. "It's actually more tactical and more oriented to what you train for and what you signed up for."
Completion of the sectional-level gunnery training also allows the Abrams teams to prepare for platoon-level gunnery, which consists of four tanks navigating the training scenarios at a time. Additional elements of the 4-118th CAB completed the sectional-level gunnery training utilizing the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, for both mounted and dismounted training, as well as mortar and sniper sections. M1135 Stryker teams were also operational during the annual training exercise.
"This is the first time since, probably before 9/11 [2001], that we have conducted sectional gunnery for Abrams, Bradleys, and Scouts...Normally, it is crew-level gunnery," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Joseph Bulwinkle, 4-118th CAB commander. "We have qualified every crew that we have brought down here and now we are going to qualify every section."
The annual training was not only about sectional-level gunnery qualification tables, but also included assessing the proficiency of the other platoons assigned to the 4-118th CAB. Throughout the vast number of ranges on Fort Stewart, the mortar, sniper, and combat medic platoons participated in their own section-level training.
The combat medic platoon, consisting of about 40 Soldiers, assigned two combat medics to each range for the duration of the training, while a three-man ambulance crew coordinated scenarios for patient retrieval from the ranges and patient treatment. Other support elements performed their duties within the wooded area where the battalion headquarters was stationed. The 1263rd Forward Support Company (FSC) provided mechanics for maintenance and vehicle recovery, distribution of supplies to the companies and platoons on the ranges, and food services. To make sure supplies could be picked up and delivered, the 1263rd Maintenance Platoon performed routine maintenance on their vehicles while conducting maintenance on the 4-118th CAB's M1A2 Abrams tanks and M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles.
"The crews are performing very well and maintenance is doing an extremely great job and no complaints," said Bulwinkle.
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4-118th and the 1263rd FSC provided operational missions and support as the Abrams, Bradley, and Scouts conducted their sectional gunnery qualifications. The 500 Soldiers spent nearly two weeks honing their sectional skills in preparation for more intensive training in the next two years.
"This has been a phenomenal AT, I couldn't ask for a better annual training," said Bulwinkle. "If this is the bar, it's going to be hard to beat it next year."
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