| Unit trains on crew-served weapons and demolitions |
FORT KNOX, Ky. - Soldiers from the Chillicothe-based 1194th Engineer Company recently traveled to the firing ranges of this southwestern Kentucky Army base to hone some of their warfighting skills. The troops conducted demolitions training as well as weapons training on the M-249 machine gun, the M-2 .50-caliber machine gun and the MK-19 belt-fed grenade launcher. The M-2 and MK-19 are crew-served weapons and require a team of two to three Soldiers to operate them properly. On this drill weekend, Soldiers who are assigned these weapons conducted their annual qualifications and other unit members—some who had never before fired the weapons—received familiarization training. When Soldiers qualify on these types of weapons, they are required to fire at targets ranging from 150 meters to more than three-quarters of a mile. When working with demolition materials, they must stand back a safe distance from the explosion, in this case, nearly one mile from the blast. “Training on crew-served weapons and demolitions are important skills for engineers,” said Capt. Todd Winn, the unit commander. “Putting rounds downrange and working with demolitions helps us to maintain and improve our skill levels. I was impressed with the professionalism and motivation that the Soldiers displayed while operating these ranges.” Sgt. Tim Allen of Circleville helped run the M-2 range. He said any of the troops who wanted to learn the weapons were offered the opportunity. “It was great that all of the personnel were able to fire the weaponry who wanted to,” he said. “We had gunners, assistant gunners and auxiliary personnel who were all able to fire and qualify with the weaponry. These were very decent, well-run ranges.” Spc. Jason Ebanks of Findlay said the demolition range in particular was fun. “Having come from the Coast Guard, where we don’t train this with the intensity that the Army does, I really enjoyed this. It is an adjustment to go from the Coast Guard way of life to the Army way of life. I would have loved to have had longer than a drill weekend to spend even more time training with this.”
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