FORT KNOX, Ky.—Advance Camp 1st Regiment headed out to Morgan Riley Range for their zeroing and down range feedback exercises on May 30.
“As a soldier its important to know how to fire your rifle accurately. This is a skill that can go dry, so it’s important to keep up those skills,” said Cadet Nick Nolan from Florida State University.
Cadets (left) Jonathan Meniola from Saint John’s University, and (middle) Tom Macri from Lehigh University, have their targets checked by Staff Sgt. Justin Kapustij of the 3rd ACR from Fort Hood, Texas. May 30 at Fort Knox, Ky. (Photo by Amber Vincent)
The zeroing exercises require cadets to hit a stationary target three times, but the shots have to be within 25-millimeter circle. The down range feedback exercise is where cadets will shot at pop-up targets. For some cadets, these exercises are the first time they have fired a rifle.
“It was a good exercise to make sure that our rifles are set for us to qualify tomorrow,” said Cadet Kimberly Walls from Marquette University.
For many Cadets, they have never shot at pop-up targets. The down range feedback exercise gives them a good introduction to the fast paced nature that they will encounter during weapon qualification.
The pop-up targets add many elements that Cadets might not face as often. “The pop-up targets are more realistic and better training for us. In a real combat situation, we won’t know where the enemy is going to be and we need to be able to engage them in a short amount of time,” said Walls.
