KABUL, Afghanistan -- Leaders attending the Regional Support Commanders Conference got a break from indoor presentations and took to range training the morning of July 28 at the Kabul Military Training Center.
The training -- defensive in nature -- is a direct result of the horrific shooting spree at Kabul International Airport April 27 when an Afghan military pilot opened fire and killed nine U.S. personnel during a meeting.
The leadership of NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, developed and is now implementing this training for those coalition personnel serving in an advisory role.
The training is designed to teach personnel how to react with their pistol in a meeting-type setting -- where people are sitting -- to disable a would-be shooter.
During the training July 28, DCOM-RS headquarters personnel and its six Regional Support Command commanders and sergeants major where trained progressively from basic shooting techniques to getting up from a chair and turning left and right -- in different iterations -- and then resting on one knee to hit the target.
During some scenarios, personnel were given dummy rounds to determine any fundamental flaws in their shooting technique.
The half-day training at Range 17 -- a 25-meter range -- was an introduction to more detailed training that is mandatory the following month, said Sgt. 1st Class Vincent Branchetti, the range noncommissioned office-in-charge.
A total of 180 rounds per person were fired in the introductory training using an M-9 pistol with 9 millimeter rounds.
The detailed training will last two consecutive days and will certify those personnel in Quick Reaction Drill Training, Branchetti said. In this training, 800 rounds will be fired individually.
“Dry-fire” training will then be taught at the unit station for the next two months before another two-day training to re-certify is completed.
The training is continuous, Branchetti said, to keep leaders/advisers ready to respond to a life-threatening situation in an office setting.
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