Laser system helps National Guard practice

Nevertheless at ease, the soldiers of the N.C. Army National Guard Detachment 1 B Gathering of the 252nd Combined Arms Battalion in Nashville, are eager to demonstrate what they do on a monthly basis. During training Friday evening, members of the detachment practiced on a laser-guided rifle range allot up inside of the Nashville Armory and worked with infrared rifle scopes. Staff Sgt. John Setera said the detachment has begun training a tiny harder by reason of of the possibility of a spring deployment overseas. "We're not 100 percent decided when, " Setera said. Most of the soldiers in the detachment have been deployed before, he added. "The majority of them have been deployed, " Setera said, adding that the battalion was ultimate called up was in 2003. For now, Setera said, most of the training will be routine. "In December, that's when we'll step up the intensity, " he said. "We'll assemble the guys wear their body armor." The 252nd Combined Ar
ms Battalion is part of the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, a mechanized infantry unit. With 4, 000 soldiers, it is one of the larger military outfits in North Carolina, according to military officials. Standing near a table lined with M-4 carbines - the U.S. Army's customary infantry rifle - Staff Sgt. Meritt Latham, a 16-year veteran of the guard, said the laser-guided targeting system allows average weapons to be fitted with a laser "beam-hit system" for range practice without the handle of live ammunition. "We're knocking the rust off of the guys since we only get to train once a month, " Latham said. "It's a course to practice marksmanship without expending rounds." The scaled-down target is measured to be 300 meters away from the soldier, when in actuality, the target is only about 75 feet from shooter. Spc. Michael Martin was busy setting up a laptop personal computer and rechecking the laser mounted beam device on his weapon. "It saves us age an
d resources by not having to go to the range, " Martin said. "It helps keep us trained on weapons qualifications. This is a really great tool to ease us." After the soldier fires at the target, Martin said, the scores are relayed to the machine and recorded. Aspects of marksmanship such as controlled breathing and grouping shots in a quarter-sized pattern are all taken into account, he added. In one of the armory's classrooms, Sgt. Zack Kysler was instructing a troop of soldiers on the operate of an infrared rifle scope. The scope picks up heat signatures, making an enemy or anything that gives off heat readily visible, yet in complete darkness. "When we were overseas, you could scan an open field and still see mice, " Kysler said. Full text: http://computerandtechnologies.com/technology/news_2008-09-07-11-00-05-534.html