January 13, 2022

Changes Ahead: Keeping the soldier ready for strategic and tactical revolution

In 2022, the U.S. Army is aiming at full-force qualification under its new combat-focused small arms standards.

InVeris stands ready to support the first overhaul of live fire training since the Cold War.

In 2019, the U.S. Army published a document Training Circular (TC) 3-20.40, entitled Training and Qualification, Individual Weapons.The manual represents a milestone in small arms training: a comprehensive training guide to prepare soldiers for combat-focused marksmanship amid the new threats of near-peer and urban warfare along with Great Power Competition.

There has only been one other such revamping in U.S. history. From the Revolutionary War through the two World Wars and Korea, America lacked a standard rifle qualification. Commanders had no precise way of assessing the proficiency of their troops. Consequently, it is estimated that only one in three combatants had the skills to recognize and engage targetsinally in 1953, the Army instituted a systematic approach to qualification, yet one that still lacked moving targets and rapid magazine changes as well as demonstration of situational awareness and problem solving.

This training environment, however, lasted until 2019 when the new program began. Similar to the implementation of the new Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), the Army is now changing how soldiers qualify with their weapons, making individual qualification more combat focused. Begun in October 2019, the new standards are expected to be in place service-wide in 2022.

The InVeris Marksmanship 95-year Legacy: Caswell technology and 15,500 live fire ranges

InVeris Training Solutions, the world leader in integrated live fire and virtual training, offers commanders, staff and NCOs the resources to support the implementation of TC 3-20.40. Our ranges and equipment have long been used by U.S. and allied military forces to prepare trainees for weapons qualification. Unlike current marksmanship qualification courses, the new program requires soldiers to engage targets faster and to operate as they would during an enemy engagement. InVeris provides the range design, target selection and carriers, LOMAH assessment, plus other state-of-the-art tools that can serve military leaders in up grading to the new standards.

For decades, our focus has been on creating the most realistic and challenging training possible. To that end, we have developed an extensive live fire portfolio, including such key products as the GranTrap™ granulated rubber bullet trap, the Road Range™ self-contained, transportable weapons training facility, and the Shoot House Optimized for Tactical Training, or SHOTT™ House. Our targeting systems encompass XWT, the industry’s first wireless, 360-degreeturning target retrieval system, as well as the Multi-Function Stationary Infantry Target (MF-SIT) that can respond to hits or a pre-programmed scenario, ensuring trainees do not anticipate target actions.

 Finally, in its range requirements, the new Army qualification protocols call for the LOMAH(location of miss and hit) system to calibrate the information needed to display shot grouping and zeroing of weapons more effectively, resulting in improved marksmanship skills. LOMAH adds shot scoring to targets on military live fire ranges by measuring the precise time of a bullet’s supersonic shock wave passing over a ballistically protected microphone sensor array. Triangulation of sound waves for hit location makes InVeris’ offering unique for militaries, determining the bullet’s location and presenting a graphical image on the shooter’s firing point computer. LOMAH can be installed easily via a retrofit kit or on new, LOMAH-capable InVeris targets such as the MF-SIT.

Complete end-to-end, turnkey design and construction of durable ranges

With a variety of shooting lanes and control systems, InVeris can uniquely provide a comparable total firing range solution. We offer defense training facilities an agile approach, backed by expertise and best practices in training technology, honed on thousands of installations. As a result, we can design and deliver customized, cutting-edge, first-rate training solutions that keep military clients safe, prepared and ready to serve. Our tagline “Because Seconds Matter™” is especially applicable to accelerated qualification situations like TC3-20.40, which force the trainee to function under combat-type conditions.

If desirable, InVeris can help your command construct a brand-new range in as little as 120 days, from start to finish. We can similarly upgrade and retrofit your current training facilities with the latest advances in realistic targetry, ballistic containment and environmental considerations. With knowledge and experience in navigating acquisition regulations, InVeris contract experts will work with your officials to streamline the process of complex construction procurements.

By relying on our capabilities, you have more time to devote to training priorities, such as the Army-wide transformation of qualification standards. Instead of focusing on range construction management, you can give your attention and energy to your objectives, curriculum and throughput.

InVeris ranges have staying power. At many U.S. and international bases, InVeris equipment has been in the field for a decade or longer. Yet it still stands up to the rigors of live fire training range conditions. Consider that some of our moving armor target systems are entering their thirtieth year of operation. That is the kind of proven durability that can outlast shooting hazards, weather and age.

The soldier’s preparedness is critical to maintaining overmatch and deterrence in the emerging battlespace. InVeris looks forward to speaking with you about serving your training objectives.

 For more information or to arrange an appointment, please contact  ITS-MilitaryLiveFire@inveristraining.com.‍

[1]The circular is available in its entirety here: https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/ARN19574_TC_3-20.40-Incl_C1_FINAL_WEB.pdf
[2]Sergeant First Class (SFC) John Rowland and Second Lieutenant (2LC) Keaton Crowder, “New Individual Weapons Strategy Approved,” Infantry News, Summer 2019, retrieved from https://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/magazine/issues/2019/Summer/pdf/2_New1_NewTC.pdf

More Articles

June 28, 2023

Taking Aim at Better Training

BY CAROLYN CRIST Virtual weapons training at InVeris Training Solutions

Learn more
 

Email us