FORT SILL, Okla. -- In a world where today's got-to-have-it technology is on tomorrow's clearance rack, two Fort Sill civilians keep a sophisticated training range ready for Basic Combat Training Soldiers to get some target practice.
Tony Biagianti and Jesse Arredondo are range complex operators at the Automated Field Fire range. It consists of 31 firing lanes that function thanks to nearly a decade old computer system. Yesterday's technology perhaps, but still the system operates faster than a speeding bullet. Unlike the old rip-em-up paper targets, Soldiers learning basic rifle marksmanship fire at targets and receive near instantaneous feedback at their firing positions on computer monitors.
How this happens begins at the firing position. When a Soldier fires his weapon, a shot sensor detects the fired bullet and a signal is sent via a data link downrange to the computer, in a sense this signal might yell the ones and zeros equivalent of "incoming!" Once the bullet arrives at the target, then things get real tricky.
"This is the only system on the small arms range that doesn't use a hit sensor to tell when a round strikes the target," said Biagianti.
Instead, a rectangular acoustic sensor panel with six microphones at each corner and mid-point of the rectangle's long side detect the sound of the bullet as it passes over. This sensor then triangulates the round and if it's within the silhouette target area above, it sends a signal to the central processing unit, or brain of the system. The CPU in turn routes a signal to the target mechanism confirming a hit and dropping the target. From there the CPU sends a signal back up the data link to the firing point where the monitor displays the hit in relation to the target.
Connecting each of these sub-assemblies are a series of multi-pin cables. What all this means is there's a lot of parts to this system, and anyone of them can develop problems.
Fortunately, in part due to the ready availability of the two operators who work on-site, the range normally has more than 95 percent of its training lanes operating, said Biagianti.
The two operators had some range downtime Feb. 17 between scheduled training to work on a target that was inoperable. Loading up an all-terrain vehicle with the three sub-components, Biagianti drove out to the target situated in a concrete, open-to-the-elements enclosure to begin swapping out components.
"Eighty-five percent of time the CPU is the problem because it communicates with all the other sub-assemblies," he said. "It takes a while to understand the system, but experience builds familiarity and usually we can pinpoint the problem and affect a fix action."
Unfortunately, this trip proved to be one of the other 15 percent of problems. These are usually confined to the data link system but may include the high voltage power supply to run the computer system. Still, Biagianti swapped out each sub-assembly with two spares each, then tried swapping some cables. Despite all this, when Arredondo sent a signal from the firing position, the target failed to drop.
Undeterred, the two men conferred and were satisfied they attempted all fix actions available to them. Ultimately their troubleshooting proved spot on as Directorate of Logistics technicians discovered corrosion in the data link system they maintain.
Sometimes Mother Nature can wreak havoc with the range, especially when heavy rains threaten to turn each enclosure into a miniature spa. To prevent this from happening, each enclosure has a sump pump to remove water as it collects. Biagianti said they also keep these pumps cleaned out during the warmer months watching out for black widows that appreciate the recessed areas as potential home sites. They also replace desiccants in each sub-assembly to combat any condensation inside that can hamper the electronics.
Aside from all these components, individual firing lanes may fail because a faulty keyboard or computer monitor.
Despite all this gadgetry, Biagianti said the range offers drill sergeants independent operation of the training lanes. The two men train the drill sergeants on their responsibilities and the functioning of the system.
As for the targets, Biagianti said they can get shot up like Swiss cheese, "because all they are is something to aim at." Eventually though, the targets curl in or present a diminishing target area and so get swapped out.
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