Email   Print   Share By Erin Rogers. Sentinel Staff

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Gunnery and missile teams from the 1-44 AMD Regt., 69th ADA Bde., fire the Stinger missile toward the target representing an RPVT Saturday morning at Owl Creek Range Saturday morning during the Stinger live-fire exercise. Spc. Brooke Culler, 69th ADA

Teams from 1-44 AMD Regt., 69th ADA Bde., drive up to the firing point where they attempt to hit the mini-drones acting as RPVTs at the Stinger live-fire exercise Saturday morning at Owl Creek Range. Spc. Brooke Culler, 69th ADA

Griffon Aerospace fires off a drone acting as an RPVT Saturday at Owl Creek Range. The 15 mini-drones were the targets for the Soldiers of 1-44 AMD Regt., 69th ADA Bde. to practice firing the Stinger missiles at the Stinger live-fire exercise Saturday morning. Spc. Brooke Culler, 69th ADA

Solders from 1-44 AMD Regt., 69th ADA Bde., realize their Avenger system has failed and prepare to fire the Stinger missile using shoulder-fire at the Stinger live-fire exercise Saturday morning at Owl Creek Range. Spc. Brooke Culler, 69th ADA

Soldiers from the 1st Air Missile Defense Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, completed their Stinger live-fire exercise at Owl Creek Range on Fort Hood Saturday morning.

While the exercise began earlier in the week, Saturday was the final step in the process for their Avenger certification. All 15 teams had to go through different crew drills and Avenger tables to meet the military-regulated standards needed to qualify.

Staff Sgt. Edward Goldman, 1-44th AMD, 69th ADA Bde., said the goals of this exercise were to test the Soldiers on their abilities, and prepare them to be ready to engage and destroy a hostile remotely piloted vehicle target using an FM-92 Stinger missile.

They were also working on their accuracy with the .50-cal, along with the Stinger missiles. The gunnery certifications needed were Tables Seven and Eight Qualifications, and the live-fire was Table 10. Each recommendation and qualification is important to the Soldier’s process in becoming certified as an Avenger Air Crew.

Not only was Saturday the final certification step, it also provided a showcase for the Families.

“It is nice for the Families to be able to see what their Soldier is doing,” Spc. Brooke Culler said. “It’s one thing for them to try and tell you about it, but it’s much better when the Families can see it for themselves.

“This is exciting for the Families because it’s not every day they can watch things get blown up by missiles. And not everyone has that cool of an opportunity,” she added.

The teams with the privilege of firing at the remote-controlled miniature drones first, were the teams top gunnery scores. Those same teams also had the opportunity to take the final shots. The drones were provided and flown by Griffon Aerospace and were acting as RPVT targets for the exercise.

The importance of these certifications goes beyond just being the most accurate team, these are preparations for real-life situations.

“Due to the current global war on terror, we cannot be too prepared,” Goldman said. “This builds the confidence of the team and shows what they’ve learned so far.”

To help prepare the teams for any situation that might happen to them, the unit staged a few challenges. After the first few teams fired Stinger missiles at the drone and barely missed, the next team came out ready to fire from the Avenger. Little did they know, there would be a malfunction causing them to have to fire the missile with the shoulder-fire launcher.

The shoulder-fire was a success, hitting the drone square-on and destroying it in the air. The Families and fellow unit members cheered as the drone came down, confirming that showcasing these live-fires for Families is a great idea.

The Stinger live-fire exercise ended in the late-afternoon and was a success with all 15 missiles being fired. The Soldiers who had the staged malfunctions handled all of the set-backs smoothly, and gained their certifications as Avenger Air Defense crew members.