FORT CARSON, Colo. -- The 62nd Sapper Company, 4th Engineer Battalion, completed a weeklong field training exercise Aug. 24, 2015, by firing anti-tank rocket-propelled explosives at Range 139 on Fort Carson. The M136 AT4 weapons firing was a first for some Soldiers in the unit, but proved shocking for even its most experienced members.
As unit instructors counted down each of the six rockets fired from a bazooka-style launcher, members braced themselves. Once the trigger was pulled, a bright flash and earth-shattering blast erupted from the rear of the launcher as the rocket flew from barrel to target in the fraction of a second.
It took several moments for company members to recover from the initial shockwave, but each launch was followed by awe-inspired applause and shouts of encouragement.
"This is a (heck of a way) to top off an exercise," said Sgt. 1st Class Lekendrick Stallworth, 62nd Sapper platoon sergeant. "That's tip-of-the-spear type stuff right there."
The 62nd Sapper Company's primary mission is to clear minefields for the units following them in combat scenarios. They also set mines to disrupt enemy mobility. That means engineer companies are often the first units to arrive on a battle field, hence the tip-of-the-spear reference.
"As combat engineers our secondary mission is to fight as infantry," said Lt. Col. Robert Hilliard, 4th Eng. Bn. commander. "This week we are training in a variety of scenarios and weapons systems as a means for honing our infantry tasks."
During the weeklong exercise, company platoons conducted activities on a variety of ranges and included dismounted maneuvering, demolition exercises and the AT4 firing.
One day, squads were picked up by UH-60 Black Hawks and dropped onto a range where they were tasked with first finding an enemy force and then assaulting that location.
"That exercise involved using one squad to provide suppressing fire while the second squad assaulted the objective," said 1st Lt. Brandon Thoennes, platoon leader, 1st Platoon, 62nd Sapper. "Once squads obtained their objective, they were tasked with a second mission, reacting to enemy mounted reinforcements. And, that's a scenario where the AT4 might come into play."
Though squads simulated the use of AT4s during their dismounted maneuver, they live-fired the weapon at Range 139 on the final day.
"We deploy with AT4s," said 1st Lt. Ryan Leets, platoon leader, 2nd Platoon, 62nd Sapper. "When we go to the (Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana) we will utilize them during our training there."
On another day, squads conducted demolition training at Range 121A. There, teams developed demolition charges using nonstandard explosive material.
"I think the demolition training was productive because it gave our squads a lot of hands-on experience with demolitions," said 2nd Lt. Jack Callaghan, platoon leader, 3rd Platoon, 62nd Sapper. "It really comes down to our squads understanding the capabilities of all our weapons systems and demolition is perhaps our most important.
When they understand how demolitions work, they can think for themselves and understand there are many ways to accomplish a certain task. That's really what combat engineering is all about, understanding what you can achieve given limited resources."
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