The rhythmic thuds of light machine gun fire echoed across Range 93 as 28 Soldiers from the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division qualified on the M-249 Feb. 28 in Fort Lewis, Wash.
Soldiers were trained on the individually-portable, gas-operated, air-cooled 5.56mm M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon during a two-day course administered by the 191st Infantry Brigade.
“I’m not going to complain about shooting weapons,” said Sgt. Nate Jarett, a combat engineer with the Division Headquarters. “That’s always a fun part of training.”
Weapons qualification began with Pre-Marksmanship Training the morning of Feb. 27. Soldiers learned such fundamentals as proper sight picture, how to load the SAW and how to correct weapons malfunctions.
The trainers were very knowledgeable and managed to keep even the most inexperienced Soldier engaged in the class, said Jarett.
The next day the Soldiers traveled to Range 93 for SAW qualification. After zeroing the sights on their weapons on a paper target, the Soldiers moved on to the pop-up targets stage of weapons qualification.
In this stage, Soldiers must engage pop-up targets at distances from 50 to 400 meters. Soldiers then engaged targets while wearing a gas mask.
The range personnel got everybody through pretty quickly, said Jarett, who qualified as a Sharpshooter.
The final stage of the training occurred at night. Equipped with phosphorus tracer rounds and the AN/PVS-4 night vision device, Soldiers were able to simulate target engagement in low-light conditions.
The Soldiers of the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division appreciated the chance to participate in hands-on training with their weapons.
“You need to know how to fire your weapon,” Jarett said. “You never know overseas. You’re a Soldier first.”
The Soldiers who qualified will be able to use the SAW during the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division’s upcoming deployment to Iraq.
