ARMOR January-February 2004
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Dismounted Combat Tankers The Professional Development Bulletin of the Armor Branch PB 17-04-1 Editor in Chief LTC DAVID R. MANNING Features Managing Editor 6 ARMOR Magazine Survey CHRISTY BOURGEOIS 9 Task Force Death Dealers: Dismounted Combat Tankers by CPT Donald Stewart, CPT Brian McCarthy, and CPT James Mullin Commandant MG TERRY L. TUCKER 13 A Company Commander’s Thoughts on Iraq by CPT John B. Nalls 17 1-64 Armor’s Rogue Gunnery Training Program ARMOR (ISSN 0004-2420) is published bi- by LTC Eric Schwartz, MAJ Daniel Cormier, and SSG Bobby Burrell month ly by the U.S. Army Armor Center, 1109A Sixth Avenue, Fort Knox, KY 40121. 21 Treachery and Its Consequences: Civilian Casualties During Operation Disclaimer: The information contained in AR- Iraqi Freedom and the Continued Utility of the Law of Land Warfare MOR represents the professional opinions of by MAJ Dennis P. Chapman the authors and does not necessarily refl ect the offi cial Army or TRADOC position, nor 26 Company Operations During the Establishment does it change or supersede any information of Stability Operations in Baghdad presented in other offi cial Army publications. by CPT Roger Maynulet Offi cial distribution is limited to one copy for each armored brigade headquarters, ar mored 34 The First Afghan National Army T-62 Tank Gunnery cavalry regiment headquarters, armor battal- by CPT Jonathan Byrom and CPT Aaron Parker ion headquarters, armored cavalry squadron head quarters, reconnaissance squadron head- 39 Back to the Basics: The Noncommissioned Offi cers’ Corps quar ters, armored cavalry troop, armor com- by 1SG Keith J. Santos pany, and motorized brigade headquarters of the United States Army. In addition, Army li- 42 Successful Scout Mounted Infi ltration braries, Army and DOD schools, HQ DA and by MAJ O. Kent Strader MACOM staff agencies with responsibility for armored, direct fi re, ground combat systems, 46 Musings of An Armor Offi cer organizations, and the training of personnel MAJ Mark Salas for such organizations may request two cop ies by sending a request to the editor in chief. 53 Feedback from the Force Improves Training and Authorized Content: ARMOR will print only Supports Change in 1st Armor Training Brigade those materials for which the U.S. Army Armor Center has proponency. That proponen cy in- cludes: all armored, direct-fi re ground combat Departments systems that do not serve primarily as infantry carriers; all weapons used exclusively in these systems or by CMF 19-series enlisted soldiers; 2 Contacts any miscellaneous items of equipment which 3 Letters armor and armored cavalry organizations use 7 Commander’s Hatch exclusively; training for all SC 12A, 12B, and 12C offi cers and for all CMF-19-series enlist- 8 Driver’s Seat ed soldiers; and information concerning the 50 Reviews training, logistics, history, and leadership of ar- mor and armored cavalry units at the brigade/ regiment level and below, to include Threat units at those levels. Material may be reprinted, provided credit is given to ARMOR and to the author, except where copyright is indicated. Periodicals Postage paid at Fort Knox, KY, and additional mailing offi ces. Postmaster: Send address changes to Editor, ARMOR, ATTN: ATZK-ARM, Fort Knox, KY 40121-5210. Distribution Restriction: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. January-February 2004, Vol. CXIII, No. 1 USPS 467-970 Once More Unto the Breach Another new year has arrived. I want to thank all our readers and and matter-of-fact approach, provide a valuable and keen insight for contributors for supporting ARMOR and the U.S. Armor Association. units preparing to deploy to Iraq or other combat zones. I believe our magazine is the finest, most relevant professional jour- As mentioned earlier, prior to OIF, the term “dismounted tanker” was nal available. Since 1888, when ARMOR ’s predecessor, The Cavalry an almost sacrilegious thought. But the current contemporary oper- Journal, began publication, this magazine has been at the forefront ating environment in Iraq has changed that mentality. Captains Don- of all professional journals, and it is my intent to raise the bar. ald Stewart, Brian McCarthy, and James Mullin dispel the myth and With that, we can’t sit on our laurels and pat ourselves on the back. offer their perspectives on the necessity of dismounting armor crew- It has been over 20 years since ARMOR ’s last reader survey. In this men in their article, “Task Force Death Dealers: Dismounted Combat issue, we have developed a survey requesting your input to make this Tankers.” journal an even better forum. Please take the time to answer the sur- Stability and security operations continue in Afghanistan and as part vey and mail it in or visit our website at www.knox.army.mil/survey/ of that, the armor community is contributing its expertise at training armormagazinesurvey. From your own computer, you can complete and shaping the Afghan National Army tanker corps. Captains Jon- the survey and, with the click of a mouse, submit it. Technology is athan Byrom and Aaron Parker coauthor, “The First Afghan Nation- great. al Army T-62 Tank Gunnery,” and describe the trials and tribulations Operation Iraqi Freedom introduced the need in our Army and armor they went through in training this new Afghan army unit. forces for dismounted combat tankers. Our armor and cavalry units Not since Vietnam has the U.S. Army been involved in so many large have quickly adapted to the mission, enemy, terrain, troops, and time combat operations around the world. War is hell and full of unpre- available (METT-T), and have shown once again that tankers and cav- dictable situations, but what differentiates us from many other na- alrymen know how to respond and overcome asymmetrical threats tions is our Army’s professionalism and obeying the law of land war- and nontraditional battlefield operations, and do so effectively. fare. Major Dennis Chapman’s timely article, “Treachery and Its Con- sequences: Civilian Casualties During Operation Iraqi Freedom and In light of our ever-changing environment, leaders at the U.S. Army the Continued Utility of the Law of Land Warfare,” reminds us of the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), the Armor Center, and importance, no matter how treacherous the enemy acts, of following the 1st Armor Training Brigade should be commended for their ef- the rule of law as it pertains to combat operations. Civilian casualties forts in implementing changes after a thorough review of both ba- are unfortunate and sometimes an unpreventable by-product of war. sic combat training and one-station unit training based on lessons We must do our best to mitigate these tragedies and not allow our- learned from ongoing operations and feedback from the field. The selves to be drawn down our enemy’s path. goal is to improve the training in these courses to better prepare new soldiers for joining an “Army at war” by incorporating more field and Task Force1-64 Armor learned many lessons during combat opera- weapons training. This is great news for our units that are preparing tions against Iraqi military and paramilitary Fedayeen forces. On their for duty in Iraq and in line with Chief of Staff Army, General Peter J. return to Fort Stewart, Georgia, 1-64 Armor immediately implement- Schoomaker’s intent that all soldiers are to be proficient in basic sol- ed changes in their training strategy by incorporating lessons learned diering skills. on the battlefield. One of the major lessons that leaders learned was in tank gunnery. In their article, “1-64 Armor’s Rogue Gunnery Train- In his article, “Successful Scout Mounted Infiltration,” Major Kent Strad- ing Program,” Lieutenant Colonel Eric Schwartz, Major Daniel Corm- er addresses the importance of the battalion staff in preparing scouts ier, and Staff Sergeant Bobby Burrell address how 1-64 Armor has for mission and combined-arms infiltration training techniques. His modified tank gunnery to enhance the unit’s preparation against fu- article is an excellent reminder of the importance of staff interaction ture asymmetrical threats. in planning combat operations. That’s all for now. Please continue to support the magazine and the Captain John Nalls’ article, “A Company Commander’s Thoughts on U.S. Armor Association by writing and providing feedback. ARMOR ’s Iraq,” offers his observations on soldiering in Iraq from a company success is completely driven by its readers. Keep up the great work in commander’s perspective. His experiences, along with his profound defending this Nation. – DRM By Order of the Secretary of the Army: Official: JOEL B. HUDSON PETER J. SCHOOMAKER Administrative Assistant to the General, United States Army Secretary of the Army Chief of Staff 0330110 DSN prefi x – 464- Points of Contact Commercial prefi x– (502) 624- ARMOR Editorial Offi ces U.S. Army Armor Center Editor in Chief Commanding General (ATZK-CG) LTC David R. Manning 4087 MG Terry L. Tucker 2121 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Managing Editor Deputy Commanding General (ATZK-DCG) Christy Bourgeois 4582 TBA 7555 E-mail: [email protected] Chief of Staff (ATZK-CS) Editor COL Robert T. Gahagan 1101 Vivian Oertle 2610 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Command Sergeant Major (ATZK-CSM) Art Director CSM George DeSario Jr. 4952 Mr. Jody Harmon 3923 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Command Sergeant Major to DCG (ATZK-DCG-CSM) Editorial Assistant CSM Otis Smith 7091 Kathy A. Johnson 2249 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Unit of Action Maneuver Battle Lab (ATZK-UA) Joe Hughes 5050 ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS: To improve speed and accuracy in edit- E-mail: [email protected] ing, manuscripts should be originals or clear copies, either typed or Experimentation and Analysis Directorate (ATZK-UAE) printed out double-spaced, with a 3½-inch disk in Microsoft Word, COL Douglas L.