thedrifter
07-19-07, 06:11 AM
Marines Hit the Range for Some Pre-Iraq Training
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 - 06:57 PM
By Philip Jones
It's one of the oldest pieces of military equipment there is, and some Marines put it to use in some important training.
The howitzer has been around for years and Marines at Camp Lejeune went through what's called “out-of-traverse” training on Wednesday.
That means they had to fire the howitzer one direction -- then quickly move the bulky machine into a different position and fire it again.
Commanding officers say it's hard work -- and important training for a variety of reasons.
“It increases the concentration level of the section,” said Lt. Col. Chris McCarthy. “It increases the confidence of a section leadership when they actually see that they're delivering a 95-pound projectile 10-miles downrange accurately.”
This type of training is a requirement for all artillery units before they deploy to Iraq.
Ellie
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 - 06:57 PM
By Philip Jones
It's one of the oldest pieces of military equipment there is, and some Marines put it to use in some important training.
The howitzer has been around for years and Marines at Camp Lejeune went through what's called “out-of-traverse” training on Wednesday.
That means they had to fire the howitzer one direction -- then quickly move the bulky machine into a different position and fire it again.
Commanding officers say it's hard work -- and important training for a variety of reasons.
“It increases the concentration level of the section,” said Lt. Col. Chris McCarthy. “It increases the confidence of a section leadership when they actually see that they're delivering a 95-pound projectile 10-miles downrange accurately.”
This type of training is a requirement for all artillery units before they deploy to Iraq.
Ellie