Building ranges in austere environments

Building ranges in austere environments poses challenges for master gunners. In today's deployable environment, master gunners must have an anytime-anyplace capability to build ranges.

Think Early

Several factors must be considered prior to building ranges in any environment: the commander's intent; which weapons platforms will be fired on the range; environmental factors of the location and condition of the terrain; types of accessible targets; types of ammunitions and if they are dud producing; types of ammunition surface danger area diagrams (SDADs) will be based on; identifying the approving authority regarding the use of land and the SDAD; and whether or not the area is located in a permissive, semi-permissive or hostile environment.

Intent/Weapons

Being a tank master gunner makes the first two issues easy--one would think. Today, with the influx of coalition forces and joint task forces from around the world in almost every mission, you must think beyond building a range for the M1A1/A2/SEP.

The best way to decide which weapons platforms will be used on the range is to involve your $3. The $3 can clarify the commander's intent and find points of contact from task forces or coalitions who are subject matter experts on particular platforms--every force has someone equivalent to a master gunner. Normally, when you build a range in a combat zone, everyone wants to use it, including air, artillery, mortar, transportation, and any other assets in your vicinity. Always plan for the worst-case scenario.

Land/Environment

A survey of the land will be required. Try to match the fighting environment as closely as possible. Take a look at the vegetation, if any is present; do not base your site on small sand dunes, they tend to move. Have your $2 provide historical data on the normal environmental conditions for certain times of the year--you do not want a piece of land that floods every January. Two very important considerations are the local community and clearing the area of mines and duds. Use a simple checklist for surveying the land. The checklist should include determinate factors such as matching the fighting environment, if the area can accommodate large caliber weapons and air-to-ground munitions, if the area can support firing year round with minimal down time due to environmental conditions, if the range will interfere with the local community, possible security problems maintaining the range, clearing the area of mines and duds, historical use of the land, and its impact area status.

Targetry

Normally, in an austere environment you will initially have to use improvised targets. Hard targets, such as war scraps, are a possibility, but require a very large SDAD, are hard to maintain, and offer no scanning techniques for crews. This is good for basic familiarization or systems verification. Locally purchased plywood, two-by-fours, and concrete blocks can also be used as targets.

If you have access to standard targets, take into consideration possible interference with your target lifters. If you have to make your own targets, you can find the minimum dimensions for standard targets in U.S. Army Field Manual 3-20.12-7, Tank Gunnery Training Devices and Usage Strategies.

Ammunition

Department of the Army (DA) Pamphlet 385-63, Range Safety, addresses proper dimensions of SDAD for U.S. weapons systems and ammunitions. If you have an adequate backstop, one of the easiest techniques is finding ammunition with the largest ricochet area against the type of target that will be used, such as .50-caliber amino against steel or earth. This could prevent developing unnecessary SDADs for each ammunition type. If air-to-ground munitions will be used, coordinate with the aviation subject matter expert; he can assist in preparing the aviation unit's surface danger zone.

Approval Authority

The approval authority for ranges varies depending on whether a waiver is required. DA PAM 385-63 outlines the requirements for waivers based on SDAD modifications, impact areas, or ammunition. The theater commander should publish standard operating procedures for establishing ranges in an area of operations.

Permissive, Semi-permissive, or Hostile Environment

One of the most important things to consider is the environment. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, the initial environment following the major ground combat was semi-permissive, which meant ranges built had to be torn down after use, unless they were located within a unit's secure footprint.

The current environment in Iraq is considered hostile for training, which requires ranges to be torn down after use, as well as security details to secure training areas during training. This is very labor intensive for units. If you are only shooting small-caliber weapons, it may be more beneficial to build a scaled range.

Building ranges in foreign countries, such as Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, and Bulgaria, can be fun and challenging. Building ranges in Iraq or Afghanistan can be challenging and extremely dangerous. Make sure you do a good risk assessment before you fire and put steel on target!

COPYRIGHT 2004 U.S. Army Armor Center
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group