FORT POLK, La. -- Every Soldier in the Army is familiar with weapons qualification. For the cadre of the 1st Battalion, 353rd Infantry Regiment, 162nd Infantry Brigade, weapons qualification takes on a whole new meaning when it comes to combat advisors.

Unlike typical Army units, the service members trained at Fort Polk that will serve in advisory capacities in Iraq and Afghanistan aren't all Soldiers. Many of them will come from the Air Force and Navy, and may not be familiar with Army weapons systems. That's where the Soldiers of the 1st Bn, 353rd Inf Reg get to lend their expertise.

"The main obstacle that the battalion will have to overcome is that some of the combat advisor training teams will be made up of service members from other services," said 2nd Lt. Travers Doane, C Company commander, 1st Bn, 353rd Inf Reg. "These service members will probably need more assistance to qualify with their weapons since they do not have as much exposure as your average Soldier. Therefore, (primary marksmanship instruction) and training on the fundamentals will have to occur on site as well as in the classroom."

The battalion will be responsible for the small arms portion of specialty based training within the brigade. It had the opportunity to test these practices May 27 on Range 23B. The battalion qualified 15 of their own Soldiers and six others assigned to the brigade's 6th Battalion. The range prepared Soldiers for joint training with the FBI, in addition to developing training that will allow them to conduct successful ranges when the 162nd starts training combat advisors Aug. 31.

"The goal is to qualify and familiarize all of the service members that the battalion is tasked to train," Doane said. "After attending one of our ranges, combat advisors will feel confident and be competent with their assigned weapon."

In addition to allowing the battalion to develop a program that facilitates tough, realistic training, ranges enable the brigade to enhance the overall foreign security forces-combat advisor mission.

"We are working diligently with the battalion and Fort Polk range operations to ensure we have land and quality facilities for our combat advisor service members and training cadre," said Staff Sgt. Larkin Rollman, 162nd Inf Bde operations, range NCO in charge. "By conducting ranges prior to assuming mission, we can identify any shortcomings, thus making sure we have the best training and facilities for combat advisors."

With the battalion's composition of more than 90 percent combat veterans, the maturation of specialty-based training strategy and continued practice, the battalion will be ready to provide the best training possible to combat advisors before they deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.