A Bravo Company Cadet takes aim at a target during basic rifle marksmanship. Photo by Dorothy Edwards/LTC PAO
By Thomas Gounley
Staff writer
Tuesday morning, Bravo Company Cadet Lorena Tepan, of St. John’s University in New York, laid down in the prone position at Fort Knox’s Handiboe Range, aimed at the silhouette on the post 25 meters away and, for the first time in her life, pulled the trigger.
“I thought I was going to be scared, but not at all,” she said afterward, as she and her fellow Cadets cleaned their rifles.
Cadets at the Leader’s Training Course spend several days at Handiboe and other ranges as part of their basic rifle marksmanship (BRM) training. Although a vast majority of Cadets come in with at least minimal firearms experience, ranging from past experience with an ROTC unit or a background in hunting, some, like Tepan, are firing for the first time.
“There were about 15 out of 100 that hadn’t shot before,” Cadet Ken Hashimoto, of the University of Hawaii, said of the two platoons from Bravo Company that were at the range Tuesday.
Firearms training for Cadets at LTC begins with engagement skills training, which offers a computer simulation of what Cadets will encounter at the range, complete with cloudy skies and trees in the background behind the targets.
“We’re still teaching basic skills, it’s just not wasting our ammo,” said 2nd Lt. Victoria Bowden, assistant officer in charge of the BRM committee, of the simulator.
The EST program, which the Army has been using in training for about 10 years, allows cadre assisting the Cadets to see the round trace – essentially the movement of the rifle before and after shooting. That allows them to focus on the little things, such as encouraging Cadets to raise their rifles up before shooting, just as they would do if they were on a combat mission.
“It helped me a lot,” Tepan said of the simulator. “It helped me realize what I had to go through.”
After completing exercises including squad tactics using rubber M16s, Cadets draw the real version at the end of their first week at LTC. At the barracks, they are introduced to the weapons, disassembling and reassembling them to learn how they work. Then it’s time to head out to the range.
“The overall goal of this is to teach basic marksmanship,” Bowden said.
Tuesday morning, Bravo Company’s third and fourth platoons were focused on grouping and zeroing. Cadets brought their targets to cadre members for inspection after each round.
“Their rounds are going to be tight, close together,” Bowden said of the optimal result.
Sometimes, that was easier said then done.
“Zeroing was the most challenging part,” said Alpha Cadet Cecilia Ysassi, of Texas A&M- Kingsville, who said she was the last in her platoon to finish. “Grouping was just learning to keep the gun still.”
“It was harder than I expected,” Tepan said.
A trailer with the EST simulator was on-site at the range for Cadets who needed extra practice.
“If they go through and can’t zero, we bring them in here, correct it and send them back,” said Staff Sgt. Vicente Mariscal, a member of the BRM committee.
However, several experienced shooters found the range easier than the simulator.
“It’s a lot easier to get in your zone out here (on the range),” said Bravo Cadet Mark Holt, of the University of Alabama.
The goal of marksmanship training at LTC is weapon familiarization, as opposed to being a specific qualification program. At Alpha Company’s out-briefing Friday, LTC Commander Col. Eric Winkie praised the company’s 98 percent success rate at grouping and zeroing.
“In today’s Army, everyone is a rifleman,” he said.
Cadets who matriculate into ROTC programs at their home schools will go through basic and advanced rifle marksmanship as part of the Basic Officer Leadership Course after they graduate. There they’ll be outfitted in full combat gear, as opposed to the ACUs that Cadets train in during LTC.
“Once they get the good fundamentals down, then we add the equipment,” said Lt. Col. Eric Wishart, officer in charge of the marksmanship committee.
In Wishart’s eyes, eliminating the distractions allows for better development.
“Out here, it’s just you and the rifle and developing good habits,” Wishart said.
And for those first-time shooters, that habit is something worth bragging about.
“It’s one thing to have the fake gun; having the real one was really cool,” said Cadet Kylee Roberts, of the University of Idaho.