Concepts

This one was primarily written by Mike Lewis who was the 82nd Airborne Small Arms Master Gunner before me. He worked with Ash Hess , John Brady , and Paul Meacham on developing the new zero target that will be discussed today…. Hello, shooters. I’m SFC (Retired) Mike Lewis and previously served in the 82nd Airborne Division… read more »

We are continuing our discussion on the Integrated Weapons Training Strategy (IWTS), specifically, we will be addressing how to use it for planning and resourcing our training. Considerable thought and planning need to go into how we schedule our small arms ranges. An Experienced NCO is usually the one to do this in the ABCT… read more »

We will be continuing our prior discussion Aiming as a part of the shot process. Specifically, we will be focusing on how Target Conditions, moving targets, the wind, and limited visibility affects the Paratrooper’s hold. All of these will be addressed individually. The conditions that the threat presents to the Paratrooper that affect their ability… read more »

We will discuss dry-fire. Where do we start at to build a solid foundation for our shot process? What References do we use? TC 3-22.9 dated May of 2016 has an excellent section discussing dry-fire drills in Appendix D. These Drills are built around the following Principles: Mindset, Efficiency, Individual Tactics, and Flexibility. We will… read more »

To continue the previous article about aiming as a part of the shot process. Specifically, we will be focusing on what complex engagements are, what three conditions affect complex engagements (shooter, target, environment), what a hold is, why a Paratrooper would use a hold, and what the differences are between an immediate and deliberate hold…. read more »

For this one we will be discussing how to achieve a good zero with the M4 Rifle. This is the first rounds that the Paratrooper will be firing with their weapon, and for some, it sets the tone in their minds as to what they will actually achieve on the live-fire range. For a zero… read more »

For this discussion we will be looking at how the two-week read-only calendar for the Range Facility Management Support System can be your best friend in finding available ranges on Fort Bragg. In the first picture below, you can see the link for the calendar highlighted in red. Keep In mind, you will need CAC… read more »

We will be discussing the Integrated Weapons Training Strategy in more detail. The IWTS is structured with four gates, six tables for each gate. As with an x/y chart from algebra, we start at the bottom left with Gate 4, which is individual/Crew served Gates. The tables for the individual and crew served weapons start… read more »

TC 3-22.9 dated May 2016, states that aiming is “the continuous process of orienting the weapon correctly, aligning the sights aligning on the target, and the application of the appropriate lead and elevation during a target engagement.” In order to achieve this, regardless of what you are using, the Paratrooper needs to keep the following… read more »