FORT BLISS, Texas - "In an environment where collateral damage may have operational or strategic implications, fires delivered with pinpoint accuracy is a necessity."1
Targeting officers from 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division facilitated a week-long Target Mensuration Only course at Fort Bliss, Texas, from Aug. 11-16, which is designed to train Field Artillery Soldiers deliberate and dynamic targeting to employ National Geospatial Intelligence Agency-validated imagery and target coordinate mensuration tools to meet the commander's desired effect on specific target sets.
"The rigorous preparation conducted prior to Fort Sill (TMO Accreditation Team) coming down to evaluate 3rd ABCT's instructors during the course was intense, but it motivated us to fully understand the material before giving the class to Soldiers who weren't familiar with the software," said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Calvin Cameron, native of College Park, Georgia, targeting officer for 3rd ABCT, 1st AD. "We were, however, better prepared to answer any and all questions the students presented to better grasp the information we provided, which resulted in all of our students passing the course."
The benefit of having a TMO program is that it affords certified instructors to create operators and maintain their currencies, which will minimize cost to the division and allow the brigade to remain flexible on training for world-wide deployments.
"It's (TMO certification) a direct force multiplier, which allows me to instruct and certify individuals across the force, as well as the National Guard, or, whomever needs the course," said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joseph Kenny, native of Staten Island, New York, field artillery intelligence officer for 3rd ABCT, 1st AD.
Incorporating TMO into a unit training plan allows ground force commanders to employ Army, joint, and multinational forces accurately and effectively while mitigating collateral damage during real-world operations, which increases a unit's readiness and lethality if called upon to respond to a contingency.
"The TMO certification allows me to enhance the force by teaching lower enlisted as well as brand new lieutenants the software so they can mensurate at the battalion level as well, which means more precise target acquisition and conservation of resources," said Kenny.
1. U.S. Army Field Artillery School. https://sill-www.army.mil/USAFAS/tmo.html. Para 1 (accessed August 27, 2019)
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