FORT STEWART, Ga. -- Soldiers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, conducted Gunnery Table V Aug. 2, on Fort Stewart, Georgia.
The unit is undergoing a two-week long training that started with Gunnery Table I and will end with Gunnery Table VI to qualify crews and prepare them to go to the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California.
"We just came off the Immediate Response Company mission, so we haven't been a full company in a long time," said 1st Sgt. Clayton Hardin, the company first sergeant. "This is the first time the company as a whole has fired a gunnery together in over a year."
While the company was on IRC, they had four tanks stationed up at half ready to deploy to anywhere in the world in 96 hours. This prevented them from qualifying their crews for months, Hardin said.
Hardin said Table V is the last step before qualifying crews. During a Table V, each crew works together to engage and destroy stationary and moving targets placed in a tactical array during day and limited visibility from a stationary moving vehicle by using full caliber ammunition. Each crew must score at least 700 out of 1,000 overall to qualify as a crew.
"We are constantly getting new crews because new people come with different skill levels," said Sgt. James Gascon, a vehicle crew evaluator from 2-7. "Doing gunnery is a good way to train a crew up and make sure we're proficient at our jobs."
Many Soldiers that have came to the unit either have little experience or they are not familiar with an M1 Abrams Battle Tank.
"This is my first gunnery and based on how my crew did during Table V, I'm confident going into Table VI and knowing that my crew is going to qualify," said Spc. Michael Smith, a gunner from 2-7.
Once each crew makes it through Table V, they move onto Table VI for crew evaluations and qualifications. From there, the crews will come together and complete Table VII to Table XII to qualify as a platoon.
"Going downrange can be pretty intense sometimes but when you're in the moment, having that amount of firepower right at your fingertips is unbelievable," said Smith.
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