FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- It was a not-so-typical day on the firing range Thursday.
Instead of Soldiers firing machine guns and throwing hand grenades, military spouses -- dressed in body armor vests and helmets over their street clothes -- tested their marksmanship as part of 3rd Chemical Brigade's quarterly Spouses' Day.
In a series of events hosted by the 2nd Infantry Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment, 14 spouses experienced what a day in the life of a chemical Soldier might be like.
They started by firing 100 rounds of ammunition on M249s, machine gun rifles, on Range 18.
Maria Duncan has participated in a few Spouses' Day events before, but this was her first time on the firing range. "I think it's awesome. I'm loving the support we're getting and I love the shooting -- that was fun," she said. "It gives us insight on what our Soldiers do -- not just our husbands, but all the Soldiers and especially the trainees."
Duncan added that firing the M249 wasn't difficult. "Now, hitting a target, that's hard," she said, laughing.
Col. Jim Bonner, 3rd Chemical Brigade commander, stopped by the firing range to thank the spouses for participating, including his own wife, Debra. He said that Spouses' Day is a great way to bring military couples closer.
"I think the most important thing about Spouses' Day is it gives them an opportunity to understand what their loved one does every day here at work. So, I think for them to come around here and go through this just brings that connection to (their) spouse," he said.
After everyone had a chance to fire the M249s, they moved to Range 31 to see a demonstration of live hand grenades. For lunch, they learned how to prepare an MRE, or Meal, Ready-to-Eat. Then, the spouses went through the hand grenade qualification course, using grenade bodies.
"There are seven stations -- different ways to throw the grenade -- and they have to get the grenade within the kill zone," said Sgt. 1st Class Bryant Fowle, a drill sergeant with 2-10 Inf. Bn. and the noncommissioned officer-in-charge for Spouses' Day.
Fowle said besides providing spouses a peek into a Soldier's training day, Spouses' Day gives them a chance to network with other military spouses.
"It lets them meet the other spouses. A lot of spouses I think have the same issues here in TRADOC … so those issues that they have, they can see (that) they're not individual (issues), and they can work through them together," he said. "They're not alone."
Scott Bozarth, the only male spouse in attendance, added that he enjoyed spending extra time with his wife, 1st Lt. Graci Bozarth, 2-10 Inf. Bn.
"I think it's very exciting," he said. "We can see what our spouses do all day, and it may give some of us an opportunity to spend more time with our spouse while at work."
He said the experience made him more appreciative of how hard Soldiers work every day.
"There's a lot of moving pieces they have to worry about. These Soldiers definitely have a hard job," he said.'
Social Sharing