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Shifting focus at the range

FORT BENNING, Ga. — What’s going on here? There’s no range walk. No one’s barking commands from the tower. How can trainees know their weapons are clear without a drill sergeant shoving a cleaning rod down the barrel?

It may sound strange, but it’s all part of Benning’s new approach to marksmanship range safety.

For the past seven months, trainers here have been making radical changes to how the Army will train new soldiers to shoot.

Part of this effort involves a dramatic shift from the past rules and practices for running training ranges that many argue sends the wrong message to young soldiers. The tight controls created an atmosphere of “don’t take a step unless you are told,” said Col. Casey Haskins, commander for the 198th Infantry Brigade, who is helping to lead the marksmanship overhaul.

The safety procedures “did in fact create safe ranges, but prevented a lot of teaching going on,” Haskins said.

Now trainers are stressing a simpler set of guidelines aimed at making soldiers assume more responsibility for safety.

In addition to shooters keeping their weapons on “safe” until they are ready to fire, soldiers are taught to:

• Treat all weapons as if they are loaded.

• Keep your finger off the trigger until you have a sight picture.

• Never point your muzzle at anything unless you intend to destroy it.

• Define your target — what is to the left and right and what is possibly in front and what is behind your target?

“There was a little problem selling it to drill sergeants” in the beginning, said Capt. Paul Tomaszewski, commander of D Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment of the 198th. “It’s big boy rules from the beginning; you are not treating them like kindergarteners.”

Staff Sgt. James Knower was one of those skeptical drill sergeants.

“When they first started saying ‘let the privates do more,’ we were like, ‘Oh, hell no,’ thinking they are going to screw it up,” he said.

But Knower now admits he has seen a change in the privates he trains since Benning began this sweeping new training style.

“It’s actually helped the privates out a lot. They get more familiar with the weapon, they are more confident. ... We are finally transitioning out of the old set ways of ‘well, this is the way we have always done it.’”