Photo(s) by Pfc. Sean Kimmons
Soldiers of Co. A, 1st Bn., 27th Inf. Rgt. practice close quarter marksmanship using night optics at the Grenade House training area on Schofield Barracks Oct. 2.
By Pfc. Sean Kimmons
When darkness hits the sky, only predators with keen night perception can observe their prey. Tropic Lightning Infantry are also learning to use the pitch black in their favor ... with the right equipment anyway. Soldiers of Company A, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment Wolfhounds prowled into the Grenade House training area to practice close quarter marksmanship using night optics on Schofield Barracks Oct. 2. "We're teaching the Soldiers close quarter combat," said Capt. Scott Carpenter, Co. A, 1st Bn., 27th Inf. Rgt. commander. "This entails CQM, which is the ability to shoot and accurately engage enemy elements from 25 meters down to three meters while moving." Soldiers entered the multi-room building in teams of four, while carrying M4 rifles with PEQ-2 or PAC-4 night lasers attached. When wearing night optics, Soldiers use the laser to produce a green beam that acts as an aim when engaging enemy targets. This beam eliminates the use of the front sight post. This form of training is important to today's infantry, since the methods of battles are changing, according to Carpenter. "This is what we'll likely see in the future if we deploy," Carpenter said. "Nowadays most of the fighting is in urban type areas, so we need to know how to go into a building and discriminatively engage enemy forces." "It's the transition of the Army going from distant marksmanship to an urban type marksmanship, where we have to accurately know what we are engaging," Carpenter added.