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CROWS keeps gunners out of harms way

By Sgt. Daniel W Bailey
June 20, 2005

BALAD, Iraq (Army News Service, June 20, 2005) – Soldiers of Forward Operating Base O’Ryan, Troop K, Task Force 1-128 have instituted new measures to ensure the safety of their gunners from enemy combatants during vehicle-led patrols.

The Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station, a remotely operated weapon mounted on top of a vehicle and controlled from a command center within it, has become a safer means by which Soldiers patrol main and alternate supply routes, as they provide security and search for improvised explosive devices.

“The Primary purpose of the CROWS is to get the gunner out of the turret where he is exposed to enemy fire and fragmentation, and get him down inside the vehicle for protection,” said Sgt. 1st Class Sam Cottrell, CROWS Fielding Center noncommissioned officer in charge.

In a CROWS equipped vehicle, the gunner now sits safely inside the armored vehicle, looks at a computer screen and controls the weapon with the use of a joystick.

“In addition CROWS gives them a powerful color day camera, a Generation 2 forward-looking infrared camera and a laser range finder,” Cottrell said.

All the gunner has to do now is tell the computer where to fire the weapon and the computer does the rest.

“Once a target’s been identified the computer builds a ballistic solution, taking into account distance, elevation and the type of weapon, and puts the rounds on the target,” said Kendall Hargis, CROWS operator, Troop K, 3rd Battalion, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment.

The M-2 .50-caliber machine gun, M-240B medium machine gun, MK-19 automatic grenade launcher and the M-249 squad automatic weapon can all be mounted on the CROWS.

Centrally fielded and serviced from Logistical Support Area Anaconda, the CROWS were rolled out to units in Iraq in April 2005.

Several hundred will be fielded in the next year and a half, according to Cottrell.

Troop K received the 10th unit in Iraq, sent four gunners through the two-week certification course and now uses the CROWS daily during combat patrols of the MSRs and ASRs.

“The CROWS system is an excellent tool,” said Sgt. 1st Class Craig Bailey, Company C, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment. “The advantages are obviously its optics, zoom and thermal capabilities. It’s able to see things a lot farther in advance. It’s excellent to have a thermal system mounted right on the vehicle to use at night or in daytime.”

“The CROWs is great for the MSR patrols because with the FLIR it sees things that are out of place,” Hargis said. “Even spotting IEDs in the road prior to coming up to them, but I think the most rewarding thing I can do is catch some of these guys laying the IEDs.”

Task Force 1-128 is comprised of Headquarters and Headquarters Company and Company A, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment, from the Wisconsin Army National Guard and Troop K, 3rd Battalion, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, from the Tennessee Army National Guard.