Soldiers from Troop B, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment load M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks as they prepare to fire at Grafenwöhr, Germany, on Wednesday. (Seth Robson / S&S)
Soldiers from Troop B, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment load M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks as they prepare to fire at Grafenwöhr, Germany, on Wednesday. (Seth Robson / S&S)
Soldiers from Troop B, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment repair the track on a Bradley fighting vehicle at Grafenwöhr, Germany, on Wednesday. (Seth Robson / S&S)
GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — When 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment platoon leaders hit the range here next week, they’d be wise to kill every target they see.
If they miss, the “enemies” might shell them with weapons of mass destruction, forcing them to fight their next engagement wearing NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) protective suits, according to 1-1 operations officer Maj. Stuart Hatfield.
The scenario is one of many 1-1 soldiers could face during platoon level gunnery that will cap a month in the field for the unit’s M1A1 Abrams main battle tank and Bradley fighting vehicles, according to the 36-year-old Covington, Ky., native.
It is part of a new type of interactive training that 1st Armored Division commander Maj. Gen. Fred D. Robinson has asked units to perform, Hatfield said.
“There will be dynamic scenarios where decisions platoon leaders make determine what happens in the engagements,” he said.
Another example of this would be where a platoon leader did a good job laying down suppressing fire during an engagement, Hatfield said.
“In that case, the platoon would get credited for a kill and they would see less targets pop up (on their next engagement),” he said.
Before the interactive training can start, Troop B, 1-1 commander Capt. Stephen Johnson, 28, of Lompoc, Calif., has to qualify nine tank crews and 13 Bradley crews. The men and machines are busy firing at ranges in Grafenwöhr so they are ready for the interactive scenarios.
The interactive training will involve platoons, each composed of two tanks and three Bradleys, engaging targets ranging from armored personnel carriers to tanks, mortar teams, reconnaissance vehicles and ground troops, Johnson said.
“In the past, you did a dry rehearsal and everybody had an idea about where the targets were. There is no dry run now.
“How they react to different situations and contact from the first run through to the night run will affect what happens later. It is as realistic as you can make it,” he said.
2nd Platoon, Troop B leader 2nd Lt. Sean Nolan, 23, of San Antonio, said he expected the interactive training to be a challenge but added that soldiers his age are used to interactive video games.
“I play an online game called World of Warcraft where teamwork and how you perform can affect the outcome for your group. I play as the humans. The bad guys are trolls, the undead and the Taurine, who are like Minotaurs,” he said.
Some young soldiers might decide to join the Army after playing military-themed video games, Nolan added.
“Every little boy wants to break stuff. That doesn’t change when you turn into a man, and we get to do it every day,” he said.
Spc. Lee Johnson, 22, of Ridge Crest, Calif., an ammunition loader on one of the Troop B tanks, said he is looking forward to the interactive training.
“Live fire turns me on. … It shows what tanks and Bradleys can do working as one, pushing as much firepower downrange as possible,” he said.
