Email   Print   Share By Erin Rogers, Sentinel Staff

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Staff Sgt. Jorge Rivera, 181st Chemical Company, 2nd Chem. Bn., 48th Chem. Bde., observes a stationary target in the distance from a Stryker during a gunnery training exercise involving all of the brigade’s units around the country. Erin Rogers, Sentinel Staff

Staff Sgt. Jorge Rivera, 181st Chemical Company, 2nd Chem. Bn., 48th Chem. Bde., and Pfc. Jose Escobedo, 44th Chemical Company, 2nd Chem. Bn., 48th Chem. Bde., study the remote weapons system inside a Stryker before taking aim at the moving targets during the 48th Chem. Bde. gunnery exercise Sept. 13. Erin Rogers, Sentinel Staff

Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Graham (right front), command sergeant major, 48th Chem. Bde., talks to Soldiers from different companies and battalions in the brigade before they head out to conduct gunnery exercises with .50-cal and MK19 40 mm machine guns on Strykers and Foxes at Fort Hood Sept. 13. Erin Rogers, Sentinel Leisure Editor

Soldiers of the 48th Chemical Brigade from installations around the United States came together at Fort Hood Sept. 10 through Friday to conduct a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear vehicle gunnery exercise – something that has yet to be done due to the unit’s country-wide placement.

While Fort Hood is home to the 48th Chem. Bde. Headquarters, only one other battalion from the brigade is stationed at the Great Place – all other battalions are in Washington, Kansas, Kentucky, New York, Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia and Korea.

“We are always trying to find a way to bring our Soldiers together,” said Col. Maria Zumwalt, 48th Chem. brigade commander. “We’ve never done an exercise like this as a brigade – Fort Hood has the resources for us to conduct something this big.”

With more than 40 crews from around the country representing the 48th Chem. battalions, Zumwalt said the main focus of the gunnery exercise was not only to come together, but more importantly, to hone their battlefield skills.

“Our top mission is to isolate and destroy weapons of mass destruction – but how effective can we be if we have to be escorted everywhere? We need to be able to conduct our missions and have the skills to protect ourselves while doing so,” Zumwalt said.

The crews were training on three different vehicles, with multiple weapons systems – perfecting their skills in correcting malfunctioning .50-caliber M2 HB machine guns, operating remote weapons systems, loading and unloading different weapons onto Strykers’ remote weapons systems, assembling and disassembling the weapons and engaging in stationary and moving targets using different combinations of vehicles and weapons.

The vehicles used in the exercise were the Stryker, Fox – which is being replaced by the Stryker – and the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or HMMWV. These vehicles were used with different weapons including the .50-caliber M2 HB machine gun and the MK19 40 mm machine gun, with the .50-cal being mounted to the Stryker’s remote weapons system.

“We want to ensure that our warriors are ready for any situation – malfunctions, quick-decision making, executing targets, clearing weapons – anything. And we want them to be able to do these things with efficiency,” Zumwalt said. “And while they are performing all of these tasks, we want to ensure that they can also protect themselves and each other, as well as get after the target.”

The 48th Chem. Bde.’s commanding sergeant major, Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Graham, echoed Zumwalt’s comments by saying, “We need to be able to complete other missions as well as being chemical warriors.

“The systems we’re using out here are equivalent to what other combat units are using – we are practicing our skills on these systems so that we are trained and comparable with those units,” Graham said.

While most of the exercise was about readiness and preparing the “Spartan” formations to support contingency expeditionary force mission requirements, Zumwalt said she couldn’t help but be excited about the chemical corps coming together.

“Because our brigade is so spread out, it is so difficult for our Soldiers from different battalions to know one another,” she said, “But this gives such a great opportunity for us to all work together finally.”

“And it’s true that we have battalions everywhere,” Graham added. “We’ve brought them together – it is difficult but has to be done, and it’s worth it.”

The 48th Chem. Bde. Soldiers participating in the exercise seemed to agree that holding the exercise at Fort Hood was the best option because of the resources and land available at the Great Place – the mass amount of land at Fort Hood made it possible for the 48th Chem. Bde. to successfully conduct their first brigade-wide gunnery exercise.

“This is so important for us as a brigade. We are demonstrating the deeper capabilities of the chemical corps,” said Staff Sgt. Dallas Jackson, 2nd Chemical Battalion – the only battalion from the unit stationed at Fort Hood other than the brigade’s headquarters.

“We need to be lethal getting to and from our target, while still maintaining efficiency in our chemical corps missions,” he added.

Zumwalt and Graham joined their 48th Chem. Soldiers at the range on Friday, which they both said they were excited about.

“We are a very technically oriented brigade,” Zumwalt said. “But the skills you need to survive on the battlefield can never be ignored.”