ZAGAN, Poland - Soldiers of Company D, 3rd Combined Arms Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, stationed out of Fort Stewart, Ga. here in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, wrapped up a week-long small arms density with back-to-back stress shoots at Zagan Training Area, Poland, July 15.
Throughout the week, soldiers progressed from zeroing weapons and building confidence with a known distance range to weapons qualification and advanced rifle marksmanship. To wrap up training, soldiers tackled an individual M9 pistol stress shoot followed by a two-man buddy team stress shoot with the M4 carbine.
"Everything culminated today doing the stress shoot and really incorporating the marksmanship fundamentals they worked on throughout the week with PT," said Capt. Colin Baggs, commander of D Co., 3-69 AR.
Both courses aimed to increase heart rate, while testing each soldier's ability to maintain composure as they engaged targets downrange.
"So as opposed to normal qualification with set positions where everyone is relaxed, when you elevate your heart rate it's a lot different," said Sgt. Noah Bontempo, M1 Abrams Battle-Tank gunner, D Co., 3-69 AR. "If there are any malfunctions people tend to make mistakes, whereas if it were a more relaxed scenario it wouldn't be as bad."
Designed to simulate the stressors of combat, soldiers faced a variety of exercises and obstacles, some of which included: ammunition can carries, high crawls, burpees, an unstable bridge, two-man litter carries, and scaling a wall.
"This gives everyone a good feel for what it could potentially be like in a combat situation, running around obstacles, having obstacles in front of you, and having your battle buddy there to help you get through the obstacles," said Spc. Justin McCall, saw gunner, D Co., 3-69 AR.
With busy schedules and multiple training events taking place at once, soldiers generally only get one day to zero their weapons and qualify. Spending a whole week at the range honing their skills was a unique opportunity for the soldiers, explained Baggs.
"Being able to spend the whole week just focusing on the weapon, increases the amount of time the soldier has to pull the trigger and increases their familiarity with the weapon system," Baggs said. "It shows that we are able to do the training and qualifications we do back home, to the same standards over here."
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