ARMY RESERVE IMAGES 

 

 

 

 

Army Reserve vehicle gunnery crews execute night live-fire qualifications
Sgt. 1st Class Larry McCracken, right, First Army Master Gunner assigned to 3-340th Training Support Battalion, 181st Infantry Brigade, conducts a brief to vehicle gunnery crews ahead of a night live-fire gunnery qualification during the Operation Cold Steel exercise conducted at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, Mar. 20, 2017. Operation Cold Steel is the U.S. Army Reserve’s first large-scale live-fire training and crew-served weapons qualification and validation exercise. Cold Steel plays a critical role in ensuring that America’s Army Reserve units and Soldiers are trained and ready to deploy on short-notice and bring combat-ready and lethal firepower in support of the Total Army and Joint Force partners anywhere in the world. In support of the Total Army Force, First Army Master Gunners participated in Cold Steel to provide expertise in crew level gunnery qualifications, and to develop Vehicle Crew Evaluator training, preparing units here and when they return to their home stations to conduct crew served weapons training and vehicle crew gunnery at the unit-level. 475 crews with an estimated 1,600 Army Reserve Soldiers will certify in M2, M19 and M240 Bravo gunner platforms across 12-day rotations through the seven-week exercise. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Master Sgt. Anthony L. Taylor)