FORT HOOD, Texas - The 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, hosted a Family Gunnery Day for families to get a better picture of what their Soldiers do in the field Feb. 7 at Fort Hood, Texas.
The battalion had a variety of vehicles and equipment on display for families to examine, touch and learn about. In addition to seeing the static displays, families were able to watch an M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle navigate a range and fire at targets while hearing the radio communications of the Bradley crew.
"The purpose is to bring families out here and let them see why we are gone so many days," said Lt. Col. Bryan Logan, a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native and commander of 6-9 Cav. "We bring them out here to understand the complex operations that go along with gunnery."
This was no ordinary day at the range for the unit. There were little footprints everywhere, music playing from loud speakers, and instead of holding a rifle, Soldiers where holding their family members' hands as they traveled around the static displays.
Children of various ages, escorted by their parents, went from vehicle to vehicle gazing at the different sizes and shapes of equipment. They were even able to explore inside of the large vehicles.
"I am proud, because my son is excited about this," said Sgt. Jacob Klopp, a Houston native and medic with the 6-9 Cav.
Some of the children sat in the seat next to their mother or father and asked questions like, "What is that?" and "What does this do?"
The bleachers on the nearby range soon filled with Soldiers and their families eagerly awaiting the live-fire demonstration, the main event of the families' day at the range. Some onlookers gathered along the dirt road a safe distance away from the range to watch an M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle maneuver through a gunnery table by firing at confirmed targets.
The goal was to make the families feel that they were a part of gunnery. In an attempt to give the family members the full scope of what goes into gunnery, the public address system switched from the announcing of the step-by-step actions of the Bradley crew to the live radio chatter between the crew members within the vehicle.
"The live fire went really well," said 1st Lt. Justin Allen, a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, and assistant to the operations staff officer. "It took a lot of coordination. I was trying to narrate it. The tower was trying to run the range, and the crew was trying to fire the Bradley."
With the live fire over, the families made their way back to the static displays and spent a little more time with their Soldiers before loading the buses again and heading back to main post.
"Today will be a success when the family walks away having a better understanding when their Soldier says, 'Hey, I'm going to the field,'" said Logan. "And the kids say, 'Hey, I remember when you showed me how you get in the back of the Bradley and loading those things,' or 'I understand when you tell me you had to set up your medic tracks and how you take care of other Soldiers in case anything happens to them.'"
The Soldiers of 6-9 Cav will remain in the field for several weeks as they complete additional gunnery tables in preparation for their April deployment to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.
Along with 6-9 Cav and several of its other organic Fort Hood units, the 3rd ABCT will include the 4th Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment from Fort Bliss, Texas, and the 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment of Fort Riley, Kansas, on a one-month training rotation involving more than 7,000 Soldiers.
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