ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. ---- First Army hosted a conference here May 29 to ensure its master gunners are ready to assist Army National Guard units in accomplishing their missions. The master gunner's role is to advise and assist commanders on all aspects of gunnery training.
Attendees of the First Army Master Gunners Conference included 19 Soldiers at First Army headquarters and 12 more who participated via video teleconference.
"We've got about 44 master gunners in First Army, and I've got to manage you better," said First Army Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Michael S. Tucker. "If a unit is going through a major gunnery density, I may have to surge you on that unit. If you're on a lane teaching somebody how to employ a Claymore mine, then I'm wasting an asset. I've got to focus you on what an Armored Brigade Combat Team provides the commander."
Tucker has served in various tanker leadership positions, from platoon leader to deputy commanding general of the U.S. Armor School. He told attendees he "has been a tanker for 43 years," and he spoke with enthusiasm about what armor provides to the Army. He also stressed the importance of optimizing the use of master gunners.
First Army trainers conducted breakout sessions with the master gunners to discuss their role, which includes training, certification, and advising and assisting Army National Guard component commanders. Another goal of the sessions was to standardize the First Army Master Gunner program, which in turn supports the Army Total Force Policy and its aim to ensure all components are trained to the same standard.
Sgt. Maj. Dwayne Cook, First Army Training sergeant major, said the conference will help master gunners do their job more effectively.
"We need to make sure that before the training this summer, we get everyone understanding the commanding general's vision and guidance, and have them ready to incorporate it," he said. "The commanding general saw a need for us to sit down with all the First Army master gunners and get after the training problems he had seen during battlefield circulation.
"We wanted to make sure they understand the role they play in helping National Guard units succeed. They don't just take a back seat and say, 'You're on your own, make it happen.' They need to be there as partners helping to advise and assist."
The breakout sessions also focused on specific issues that Army National Guard armor units face.
"National Guard units don't have as much time as active-duty units to get after gunnery, and location is sometimes a problem for them," Cook said. "We wanted to sit down with each other and come up with products that will give everyone a good concept of how to get after any challenges they may face."
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