2-44 ADA
Goes Live -- Down Range

     For many, the morning started well before dawn as Soldiers assembled in the motor pool to ready their vehicles one final time for the drive to the range. After many months of Avenger focused classes and table top training, Soldiers performed one last round of standard preventive maintenance checks on their vehicles and drove out of the motor pool gates on their way to range 41, deep in Fort Campbell’s "Back 40".

     Once at the range, crews began to bore sight and ready their vehicles on line for the live fire exercise. Meanwhile, a battery-level command post (CP) was established to relay crew qualifications to the battalion tactical operations center (TOC). Farther down range, the 2d Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment (2-44 ADA) made its presence known by constructing a battalion-level TOC to train and simulate battalion-level operations.

     Also present were the battalion cooks who provided three meals a day in their mobile kitchen trailer, as well as, the battalion medics who stood ready to render aid if needed and the service detachment’s mechanics to fix any broken parts.

     The intent of the 2-44 ADA's Battalion Commander, Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Thomas Nguyen, was to have all Soldiers participate in the range exercise, regardless of military occupational specialty (MOS). He also wanted to stress the importance of team proficiency on crew served weapons and reminded all of us of the potential air threat that still exists today.

     Throughout the three-day range exercise over 13,700 rounds were expended with Bravo Battery leading the way by shooting down three remote control miniature aerial targets (RCMATs), and 33 of 36 Avenger crews qualified Table VIII.

     Additionally, 2-44 ADA played host to members of the Kentucky and Tennessee media.  Journalist and news anchors from Clarksville, Hopkinsville, and Nashville made the journey to film and interview Soldiers. This allowed the Soldiers an opportunity to interact with the media as they might in a real-world mission while deployed.

     All in all, the early morning start and the three-day exercise yielded an invaluable amount of experience that will help to ensure readiness and mission success in the future.