Determining the standards of a master gunner

By Noelle WieheJune 2, 2015

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Sgt. 1st Class Donald Mertz, common core branch chief, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, 316th Cavalry Brigade, watches over as Staff Sgt. Leslie Boyanton, training developer and writer with the Directorate of Training and Doctrine, trouble shoo... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT BENNING, Ga., (June 3, 2015) -- The Master Gunner Common Core Course was designed to train Soldiers on the standards of being a master gunner, regardless of platform. The course is in the validation stage with doctrine writers and instructors and the Master Gunner Common Core pilot courses are scheduled to begin in the fall.

Following the common core course, Soldiers will proceed to phase two: Stryker Master Gunner, Bradley Master Gunner or Tank Master Gunner.

"The primary goal is for these Soldiers to graduate and move onto their platform-specific master gunner courses, but we also facilitate Soldiers who do not have the platform-specific master gunner courses - the (Amphibious Assault Vehicles) and the Infantry combat brigade teams as well as the mounted machine guns - Humvees and gun trucks," said Sgt. 1st Class Donald Mertz, common core branch chief, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, 316th Cavalry Brigade.

The course was considered a compromise between the three master gunner courses, said Capt. Chris Blanc, C Company commander, 1st Bn., 29th Inf. Regt. It was developed through working groups who discussed topics and commonalities that touch on what was common to a master gunner and what the standard should really be.

A master gunner is a technical and tactical expert and advisor to the commander, Blanc said, noting they are the best and brightest in their communities. The master gunner advises the commander on anything related to the vehicle, platform or weapons system and helps develop all the materials necessary to do gunnery and live fire exercises.

"Now, guys from a light organization or an Airborne organization can receive that training and what we think we've done is we're training them on the mastery level so that they can go out and do their due diligence, train their Soldiers properly and advise their commanders appropriately based off of what we've developed," Blanc said.

The course was created under the Lethality Battalion in an effort to train Soldiers who are smart, fast, lethal and precise.

Directly in line with the Maneuver Center of Excellence's strategic vision, the common core class focuses on skills common to all three platforms.

The Lethality Battalion concept is there should be a standardization for master gunners from M4 - the basic rifle every Soldier is issued - through M1 Abrams, Blanc said. The team that's been built was pulled from Bradley master gunner, Abrams master gunner, to Stryker master gunner.

The course is for experienced vehicle commanders with at least 10 years of service in active duty all over the world, National Guard and the Marines. To pass the course, students must test 90 percent or better, Blanc said. The voluntary course is 25 training days.

The course is aimed at getting Soldiers to go back to their formations knowing what they've learned will allow them to help their Soldiers and NCOs be as best trained as possible for combat, whether it be Abrams, Bradleys, light Infantrymen, Marines, Rangers, etc., said Sgt. 1st Class Alex Hill, gunnery team chief, 1st Bn., 29th Inf. Regt.

The common core class is broken into three different test blocks. Inside the test blocks, there are about 10 subjects.

The first test block is weapons. Mertz said those can be anything from machine guns to large caliber and small arms. The course uses the DIDEA process (detect, identify, decide, engage and assess), which can be linked to any weapons system.

"As we move toward regionally aligned forces, we're looking to grow and understand 'how do we continue to anticipate who the enemy is' - especially as technology evolves as much as it does," Blanc said. "We need to be able to identify and discern which (weapons system) is the most lethal, which is why we would then engage that one first."

The Soldiers are taught how to detect and identify different targets and thus determine the best weapon or ammunition to engage with, Mertz said. They are taught how to determine range with various methods, and then to engage the target. They are also taught various fire commands that coordinate with crew efforts, squad or fire team efforts to get rounds downrange as quickly as possible. Finally, Soldiers are taught to assess the target to make sure the desired effects have been achieved.

From there, the course takes students in-depth on the M2 .50-caliber machine gun and the M240.

Through the training on the machine guns, graduates will have a systematic process on how to troubleshoot and find out what is wrong with a weapon, Mertz said.

In test block two, students are taught the characteristics and makeup of ammunition - how they fly through the air, and what meteorological effects such as temperature, air density and elevation have on the round, Mertz said.

Blanc said the ammo capabilities are broken down to the energetic, the propellants and the fuses among other variables.

"If we are able to know the trajectory a round flies, then we are able to know if a target is within a battle site range," Mertz said.

Additionally, in test block two, ammunition and weapons system capabilities are discussed. The main point is so a master gunner can tell a brigade commander the effects specific weapons will have on specific vehicles as well as the effects specific enemy weapons will have on U.S. vehicles.

Range safety is the final portion of test block two, Mertz said. Here, students are taught to determine surface danger zones.

The third and final test block covers gunnery training management - everything Soldiers need to do prior to executing live fire gunnery. Students are taught how to put on a gunnery-training plan and what it consists of.

Mertz said there are a series of tables the Master Gunner Common Core Course students must hit before they can qualify.

The tables are: gunner skills test, simulations, dry fire or crew proficiency course, basic live fire, practice and qualification.

From live fire, the students move on to crew qualifications: how to run a range, executing range operations and developing scenarios as far as targetry - where the targets are placed and at what distances. Then, students learn how to do that at the squad, section or platoon level.

Then comes the combined arms live fire exercise, Mertz said.

"Any assets a brigade would have (air, artillery, unmanned aerial systems) are all going to come together for this (CALFEX)," Mertz said.

The final portions of the course are learning the means of an across-the-board standard evaluation of the crews.

"It's how to responsibly manage at the unit level, to be crew evaluators and be sure that they're evaluating to standard," Blanc said.

Mertz said the graduates of the course would be able to go back to their units and certify the vehicle crew evaluators for their units.

"One of the things under the Lethality Battalion concept is everything from M4 to 120 - to include from pulling actual triggers to the simulations - (we'll) train up to that, making us nested with MCoE Commanding General Maj. Gen. (Scott) Miller's initiative. "what we're trying to gain here is the efficiencies behind that," Blanc said.