Colorado Guardsmen Train Hard At Fort Hood
(May 11, 2009) |
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Spc. Josh Keadle celebrates his 21st birthday April 25, 2009, at a Fort Hood range in Texas with his battery commander, Capt. Ashkan Angha, making him do 21 pushups while saying, “Happy Birthday.” Both Ashkan and Keadle laughed about it. “It was the most memorable thing about my 21st,” Keadle said laughing. |
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FORT HOOD, Texas (April 25, 2009)
More than 60
Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery, Colorado Army
National Guard conducted day and night fire with the M240B Medium
Machine Gun here April 25, 2009.
The battalion, which conducted a large majority of its required weapons
training at Fort Carson, Colo., prior to moving to Fort Hood, only had a
few Soldiers needing to qualify on the machine gun.
“All the weapons we train with, we are deploying with in theater,” said
Staff Sgt. Clifford Fraipont, a resident of Fountain, Colo., who was
appointed the noncommissioned officer in charge at the range.
My main responsibility is accountability of all Soldiers at the range,
ensuring they successfully complete the training safely, he said. |
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Wake up for Soldiers heading out to the
range is typically early – around 4 a.m., and, they are
expected to remain at the range until the last Soldier
firing is done. This range was operational for approximately
17 hours. |
Once the range is operational,
the Soldiers were briefed, gathered their gear
and were assigned firing lines. Although it's
important for Soldiers to perform safe acts on
the range, it's not all serious business for the
entire 17 hours.
One Soldier at the range, Spc. Josh Keadle of
Thornton, Colo., of Headquarters and
Headquarters Battery, was celebrating his 21st
birthday. He was among the Soldiers required to
train with the machine gun. Since celebrating
his birthday didn't allow for cake or a party,
his commander decided to help him celebrate in
another – more Army – way.
“We had him do 21 pushups while saying ‘happy
birthday' for each one performed,” laughed Capt.
Ashkan Angha, his battery commander.
“It was terrific,” Keadle said sarcastically.
“It's not as fun as being at home but it was the
most memorable thing about my 21st here,” he
said laughing.At
the range, the Soldiers from 3rd Battalion,
157th Field Artillery were conducting day and
night fire and some select Soldiers had to
qualify while others performed familiarization
fire.
“The Soldiers selected to
qualify on the machine gun will have that |
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Spc. Ben Harbour of Vancouver, Wash., (left) and Spc. Josh Keadle of Thornton, Colo., (right) get their M240B medium machine gun ready for night fire at a Fort Hood range April 25, 2009. Harbour looks down range for targets through his optics, while Keadle checks the rounds to ensure they are all connected. Both Soldiers are assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery, Colorado Army National Guard based in Colorado Springs, Colo. |
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weapon assigned to them
in Iraq, so we want them to have the highest
proficiency with the weapon,” said Angha. |
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Soldiers also benefited from the optics on
the weapon system, which allowed the Soldiers to see the
targets more clearly under the dark Texas night sky.
In groups of two, one gunner and one assistant gunner, the
Soldiers approached the firing line, set up their gear,
checked the sights and familiarized themselves with the
targets that range control popped up so they could identify
them before they began firing – but this time in the dark. |
Soldiers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery, Colorado Army National Guard light up the range with tracer rounds as they fire the M240B medium machine gun with the help of night optics at Fort Hood, Texas, April 25, 2009. The battalion, which arrived at their mobilization station April 18 for additional mobilization training, is deploying this summer in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. |
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Soldiers shot off five to seven round bursts; tracers
illuminated the dark range.
Around midnight the Soldiers headed back to their barracks to unload
their gear and catch some sleep before the next training iteration began
the following day.
“Both the mobilization training and deployment requires sacrifices from
our Soldiers and families,” said Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Al Morris.
“However, these sacrifices are essential for preparing our troops
to deploy, conduct their required |
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missions and all return home
safely to their loved ones.” The
battalion is scheduled to deploy to Iraq at the
culmination of their training at Fort Hood this
summer. |
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Article and photos by Army SSgt Liesl Marelli
Public Affairs NCO
3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery, Colorado Army National Guard
Copyright 2009
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