3/1/A-CO, 1-2IN - Alpha Company, First Platoon, Third Squad

Present outside of combat unit

• SFC G.Tucci
• Horus Lupercal (Unit Friend)

Objectives

• Convoy operations
• Weapons practice, including discussing the effectiveness of MAAWS and AT4 against various levels of armour
• BD9

Accidents

N/A

Areas of Strength

• Effective use of weapons against live and stationary targets at the target range
• Effective use of "talking the gun" tactic
• Spotted and called out every IED and suspicious item on the road

Areas of Weakness

• Lack of valid communication within the convoy due to inexperience and technical issues
• Confusion when the convoy encountered a barricade and didn't break off as ordered

Suggested Improvements

• Convoy communication practice for every squad member so everyone knows what to say and when on the convoy net
• Establish alternative convoy routes next time

Mission Summary

Spartans started with a discussion on how convoys operate. We discussed the various speed we use and why we use them, established how far apart should the vehicles be and why, and established how a convoy should provde security i.e. gunners should be looking either left and right etc. We've also discussed the herring bone formation and established what should the squad do upon dismount. After the discussion we hopped in a 4 vehicle convoy consisting of Humvees and a Stryker equiped with a TOW towards Camp Balls. On the way we encountered various vehicles and IEDs, with them being called out. Eventually the convoy encountered a barricade ahead and Vehicle 1 ordered a short stop. After deciding to move closer the convoy started taking machine gun fire and I ordered the convoy to break off to the left, as there was a dirt road we could have followed, however the convoy then collapsed with many vehicles going their own way and last vehicle's driver getting shot, immobilising the vic. At that point I decided to pause the exercise for a quick AAR because none of this went as it should have gone. Once everyone got together we discussed what happened, the things we did right and wrong and discussed what should have happened, I also stressed the importance of establishing alternative convoy routes for this exact reason because it wasn't completely obvious for everyone where to go but with an alternative route the convoy would have know which route to take. From there we continued to Camp Balls.

At Camp Balls we dismounted all the vehicles in a herring bone formation and only took the Stryker towards a spot where we would conduct the firing range drills. Once there we first discussed BD9 and each step that everyone should take when they hear IDF or someone calls out "Incoming", as well as the why's of each step.
Afterwards we discussed the effectivenes of the MAAWS, with PV2 R.Kalin firing at various targets to demonstrate his launcher's effectivenes. He first fired at a T-90 and as expected, he caused zero damage to it, which I heavily stressed to everyone that they should not be firing their missiles at tanks unless they have a Javelin. Then Kalin fired at a BMP-1 that was pointing towards us, only slightly damaging, demonstrating that vehicle armour is usually stronger at the front, a fact further demonstrated by Kalin firing at a BMP-1 orientated to its side, exposing its side armour, and destroying it with a single round.
Afterwards we had volunteers fire a MAAWS at various targets to get more familiar with the weapon, I even let some soldiers fire their Javelins at hidden tank positions so they can practice too. SPC P.Liwa took the machine gunners aside to teach them various machine gun tactics, including the "talking the gun" tactic which involved each gunner to fire after the other, something they picked up very quickly. I also introduced the squad to fire sectors by ordering one machine gunner to only fire at anything between two given landmarks, and the other machine gunner within his two given landmarks.
Eventually everybody in the squad was practicing firing their weapons at varying targets, and the TOW Stryker was being used as well. Eventually after I decided that everyone had enough practice I called ENDEX and debriefed everyone.

Overall Sentiment

POSITIVE