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MFO soldiers undergo combat training

Army News Service

Release Date: 12/03/2003

SINAI, Egypt (Army News Service, Dec. 3, 2003) -- The Soldiers of Task Force Sinai serving in support of the Multinational Force and Observers are learning "stress shooting."

"The intent of the training is to get the heart rate elevated. We put the Soldier under a stressful situation and see how he does," Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Marshall, range noncommissioned officer-in-charge and Flight Platoon sergeant, Aviation Company, 1st U.S. Army Support Battalion.

Soldiers performed five separate serials, each beginning with 60 seconds of calisthenics such as the side-straddle hop, squat thrust, two-minute run, flutter kick or push up. Following the calisthenics, Soldiers fired 10 rounds with their M16A2 within 20 seconds at a 25-meter target.

"By the time they get to the push-ups, they are done," said Sgt. Prettis Young, range safety and Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricant clerk for the Aviation Company's Headquarters Platoon.

But stress firing wasn't just about calisthenics. This exercise was all about sighting in on the target and killing it.

Stress fire training comes from Ranger Training Circular 350-1-2, and beyond challenging the Soldier physically the underlying purpose of the training was to evaluate how well the Soldier can engaged a target under duress.

The prone supported and unsupported firing positions were old hat, but few had been trained to fire from the standing or kneeling unsupported positions, according to Spc. Robert Pacheco, an exercise trainer and crew chief in the Flight Platoon.

"This (stress firing) was more about the Soldier learning how to control his body when his heart is pumping and still hit the target," said Marshall.

For many of the Soldiers, this was the first time they had ever conducted this type of training, so they were unfamiliar with a few of the firing positions.

"The training gave me a sense of what it feels like under pressure. It's nerve-racking," added Spc. Alicia Maskarine, administrative clerk, Headquarters, Task Force Sinai.

"Many of the Soldiers missed the target when firing standing up," Pacheco said.

"This training is as close as we are going to get to combat while here in the Sinai," said Master Sgt. James McDowell, operations sergeant, Headquarters, Task Force Sinai.

Stress is one of the most fundamental differences from regular basic rifle marksmanship. Even McDowell, normally an expert shooter, admitted that the training was a challenge for him, as well.

"I don't miss nothing when I qualify, but this time I missed a few," he said.

The recent stress fire training was a first for the Soldiers of Task Force Sinai, but McDowell intends to make it a monthly requirement.

"The overall goal for every Soldier is to improve," he said. "Improvement each time equals success."