By Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor
3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Pfc. Owen Luchies, an M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicle driver for 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducts preventive maintenance checks and services June 7, 2018 inside of a Bradley fighting vehicle. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor)
FORT CARSON, Colo. — The U.S. Army requires Soldiers to be ready and able to deploy and perform their assigned functions to win the nation’s wars at any time, day or night.
But readiness isn’t a one-time kind of requirement. It must be sustained through recurring training and qualifications on everything from physical fitness to individual weapon systems, even for the Soldiers whose weapon systems weigh roughly 30 tons.
Mechanized infantry Soldiers must qualify as an entire crew on their M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicles in a training event known as gunnery.
While gunnery training is mandatory, some Soldiers take it as an opportunity to engage in friendly competition.
One crew from Troop C, 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, bested the other squadron crews and earned the title of “Top Gun.”
Top Gun is a distinguished accomplishment reserved for the crew with the highest score.
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Spc. Conner Stacheckie, a gunner for Troop C, 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducts preventive maintenance checks and services inside of a Bradley fighting vehicle June 7, 2018. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor)
“Everyone trains with the mindset of scoring 1,000 out of 1,000,” said Staff Sgt. Jessi Craven, a Bradley commander with Troop C, 4th Sqdn., 10th Cav. Reg., 3rd ABCT. “Our main objective was to ensure we qualified. We scored a 983, 10 out of 10 qualifying engagements.”
Each level of training includes 10 separate engagements, ranging from one to three targets.
“The engagement can consist of a single, double or a triple target,” said Craven. “The crew has 50 seconds to engage the targets and qualify to the 70-point standard.”
While the crewmembers’ only goal was to qualify, the competition still kept them on their toes.
“We were nervous during the first engagement,” said Craven. “After the first engagement, we got into the flow of hitting our targets.”
The crewmembers waited hours between zeroing their weapons system and qualifying.
“We were ready to shoot our first engagements during the day, but the weather delayed our start time,” said Spc. Conner Stacheckie, a gunner with Troop C, 4th Sqdn., 10th Cav. Reg., 3rd ABCT. “By the time night came, I was very nervous.”
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Pfc. Owen Luchies, an M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicle driver for 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, reviews a manual on his vehicle during preventive maintenance checks and services June 7, 2018. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor)
The Soldiers shot night engagements first, followed by daytime engagements.
“By the regulations, you have to have at least one night engagement and one daytime engagement,” said Craven.
Craven said he was extremely happy with how his crew operated during gunnery.
“I knew off the bat we were going to qualify and do well,” said Craven. “We were calling targets to the tower, and moved on to the next target.”
Part of the crew’s success was in how well the equipment was maintained and having a skilled driver, said Craven.
“This is my first gunnery training,” said Pfc. Owen Luchies, a Bradley driver for 4th Sqdn., 10th Cav. Reg., 3rd ABCT. “I participated in a field training exercise prior to gunnery as a driver. That’s where I learned how to drive a Bradley proficiently at night.”
Luchies said he knows how to maneuver through the lanes and is ready for incoming commands.
“A lot of crews minimize the importance of a good driver because it’s not what’s happening in the turret; the rounds flying downrange and hitting the targets,” said Craven. “To have a driver that you don’t have to worry about is very helpful. I’m able to focus and do what I need to do as a Bradley commander. I work with competent Soldiers, and it makes it so much easier to focus on what’s important.”
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Pfc. Owen Luchies, an M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicle driver, 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducts preventive maintenance checks and services June 7, 2018, inside of a Bradley fighting vehicle. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor)
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Pfc. Owen Luchies, an M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicle driver for 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, reviews a manual on his vehicle during preventive maintenance checks and services June 7, 2018. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Ange Desinor)