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Tropic Lightning -- 1 December 2000
 Photo(s) by Staff Sgt. Michael Westerfield  Above, Spc. Jairod Terrell lays down suppressive fire from his M-240 machine gun. Top, Staff Sgt. Frank Rael uses concealment to approach an objective. | Night live-fires teach valuable skills By Staff Sgt. Michael Westerfield Nearly every weapons system available to the Company C, 1st Battalion., 27th Infantry lit up the night during live-fire exercises Nov. 8 during Operation Keen Sword. The infantrymen took turns with their Japanese counterparts demonstrating assault techniques on a fortified position which included two reinforced bunkers. The Japanese unit took the objective using an on-line approach to overwhelm the enemy with small arms fire. When the unit started training, they used a totally different approach. They established a fire support base with both machine-gun and mortar fire to suppress the enemy while flanking elements maneuvered to the side to take out strongholds. Every step of the rehearsal was watched carefully for safety issues. When everything was approved for safety, the infantrymen showed their Japanese counterparts how the U.S. Army takes an objective. "I’ve never had mortars and a support-by-fire team fire simultaneously to suppress an objective I was approaching," said Staff Sgt. Frank Rael, Co. C, 2nd Platoon leader. "Our execution and motivation was fantastic. It compared to when I was in a Ranger battalion." During the night live-fire exercise, streaks of light spewed from laser-aiming devices and tracer rounds of rifles and machine guns. "Ours were the most successful live-fires for Operation Keen Sword," said 1st Sgt. Leslie Frye, Co. C first sergeant. "We had live mortar rounds pounding the target 68 high explosive rounds in seven and a half minutes. At the same time our support by fire team was sending a steady stream of gunfire down range." "The mortar attack would have probably killed just about everyone if this had been the real thing," said Spc. Benjamin Brown, mortar gunner. "You don’t have to hit them with frag when you use HE (high explosive). The concussion does most of the damage." The biannual exercise is designed to refine and improve bilateral operations between the U.S. military and Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces in case of a crisis in Japan. Knowing each other’s assault doctrine will help U.S. and Japanese forces integrate operations if the need ever arise. |
