USS Emory S. Land Completes Live-Fire Exercise Underway

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS120329-04
3/29/2012

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Elizabeth Fray, USS Emory S. Land Public Affairs

USS EMORY S. LAND, At Sea (NNS) -- Sailors assigned to submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) successfully completed a live-fire .50-caliber machine gun exercise while underway, March 27.

"The purpose of this exercise is to both qualify and maintain a level of proficiency for personnel standing gun watches during dangerous strait transits," said Ensign Juan DeLoney, assistant gunnery officer.

"All Sailors aboard Emory S. Land are expected to share in the responsibility of protecting our ship," added Ensign Michael Coble, the ship's gunnery officer. "We qualify personnel from every department, so the rigorous demands of watch standing are distributed throughout the command."

Land's Gunnery Division operates a live-fire simulator, which is readily available for Sailors to maintain and improve their comfort and accuracy with the .50 caliber machine gun, and other crew-served weapons on board. However, live-fire training evolutions are preferred, explained Coble.

"Seeing rounds impact targets does far more for watchstander's confidence. It allows them to really learn the weapons, how they function and how to react in a real situation," Coble said.

The two-day training was concluded with 28 personnel newly qualified and ready to assist their crew during at-sea operations.

"The success of this qualification and training evolution would not have been possible without the dedicated personnel in Gunnery Division," said Coble. "They have done an outstanding job in training prospective shooters in the characteristics, procedures, and precautions of the weapon."

Land, homeported in Diego Garcia, is on an extended deployment in Guam to temporarily relieve USS Frank Cable (AS 40) as the primary afloat maintenance activity in the U.S. 7th fleet area of operations.