MISSION REPORT: FORT FUBAR
(CLASSIFICATION: NOT REALLY A SECRET)
SITREP: Your unit is trash at shooting, here is a solution to fix it
Perhaps the most important skill in combat is knowing how to run a range. In combat you need a good Range Safety Officer and a tower in which both good guys and bad guys can take commands from to ensure the fire fight is safe, because “Safety First, Hooah!” What’s that? You disagree? Could it be because knowing how to shoot and operate your weapon is a more important skill than running a range?
When I go to ranges I see the following, some Platoon Leader acting as the Range OIC with virtually minimal experience, an E7 Platoon Sergeant acting as the Range Safety Officer (essentially running the range for that inexperienced PL), and a host of E6 and E5 squad leaders and team leaders holding paddles as Range Safeties, all while Joe is over there mounting his ACOG backward and wasting all of his ammo ‘cause he can’t even group on his zero. The current model for most National Guard units is to occupy a weapons qual range and for the BN to assign different subordinate companies to run those ranges. The positions required to run a range include OIC, RSO, range safeties, range operator, score recorder, and ammo handlers. We normally assign the most important duties to our PLs, PSGs, SLs, and TLs. We say that this is good for them, teaching them the responsibility of establishing a range, filling out risk assessments, and planning the logistics.
Although this can be true, another thing is truer; that when you are running a range you are no longer leading your soldiers. You cannot be decisively engaged in more than one activity. PLs, PSGs, and SLs that are running a range are not teaching, coaching, and mentoring their soldiers on how to properly shoot. We assume that PMI/BMI has been completed prior to coming to the range and that the training in PMI/BMI that happened the month prior will be remembered by all the soldiers and sufficient for them to qualify a month later. This fallacy is further exacerbated by the fact that most units only shoot once a year.
What if, in a radical turn of events, we had someone else run the range and let our leaders be leaders!? What if those squad leaders and team leaders could be conducting PMI/BMI with their men and then teaching, coaching, and mentoring those troops the whole time they are on the range? Isn’t that what they are supposed to be doing? Instead, we have our leaders decisively engaged in running a range. And as stated before, if you’re running the range, you can’t also be teaching, coaching, and mentoring your troops.
So, here is the bottom line… get someone else to run your range. And here are the best people to do that:
- Option 1: Higher out contractors to run a range. Paying contractors to run a range for the day will allow units to just show up and shoot. When I was with the Civil Support Team, we had money allocated to hire contractors to run training events for us. Sure, we could set up our own training, but then our leaders would be running the exercise and not getting the training. Funding exists to hire contractors for this purpose, we just need to convince congress (or other powers that be) that we need it for shooting.
- Option 2: Don’t wanna pay a contractor? Have units make coordination with adjacent units to run a range for them. For those looking for additional AT days, or for those with year-round AT days (“uhem [cough], JFHQs”), running a range would be a great use of that time. Units from the MPs could coordinate with Engineers to run ranges for each other freeing up their leaders to lead. This could be something that is cross referenced at the state training resource sync or just a handshake deal between commanders from different units.
- Option 3: Create a range support unit. This range support unit would be a temporary assignment similar to the honor guard, where personnel would run ranges for units in their state National Guard. This could also be an assignment of the state marksmanship team, in which they could do shooting coaching as well.
The goal is to get the burden off companies to free up their time, allow their leaders to lead, and maximize training time. Imagine the time saved by units if they could just show up, shoot, and then leave for their next training event! There would be so much more time for training!
Love this article? Great! Let me know and I’ll produce more. Hate this article? Well, it’s probably ‘cause your unit is trash at shooting and you like being a range dictator. Why don’t you go ahead, respond, and let me know why I am wrong.
*This article was written by FUBAR 6. All opinions expressed in this article are that of the author. This article is not endorsed by the Department of Defense, the United States Army, or any other state or government agency. Comments to the author can be submitted below.