The switch to a more focused job for Bradley crew members has already paid off with higher gunnery scores for at least one armored brigade combat team.
Last year, the Army announced the creation of a 19C military occupational specialty, or MOS, for a dedicated Bradely crewmember.
The infantry MOS 11B previously filled that role, but troops with that specialty also had to split their time with dismounted duties outside of the vehicle.
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The 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, out of Fort Hood, Texas, was one of the first armored brigade combat teams, or ABCTs, to undergo the change.
The same brigade was recently named one of the Army’s Transformation in Contact armor brigades.
The move from 11B to 19C wasn’t forced; the Army sought volunteers. Within each of the division’s three brigades, 178 soldiers with the 11B speciality transitioned to 19C. For the division, the total amounted to 534 troops transferring from 11B to 19C.
All of the service members underwent training courses to specialize their Bradley skills.
And it paid off, said Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Muir, the division Bradley master gunner.
Prior to the 19C implementation, the Bradley gunnery results saw six crews earn the “distinguished” designation, 23 earn “superior,” 29 “qualified” and 58 “less than qualified.” Those who received “less than qualified” were required to reshoot, said Col. Jose Reyes, brigade commander.
After the transition to the 19C MOS, 31 crews earned “distinguished,” 35 earned “superior,” 43 “qualified” and 21 “less than qualified.”
“Leadership matters,” Reyes said. “One of the reasons 2nd ABCT was able to be a lot more successful was the emphasis that leaders put on gunnery excellence.”
Muir said that having realistic expectations and time management helped crews focus on the basics, which improved their proficiency.
The brigade is currently in the field training now, transitioning from live fire to maneuver proficiency, Reyes told Army Times. Next, they’ll complete platoon situational training exercises before moving to company-level exercises.
That’s all in preparation for their fall rotation at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California.
Between now and then, the unit will receive new gear, such as drones and electronic warfare tools, as part of its Transformation in Contact initiative.
But the focus, Reyes said, is the force structure, or how they’ll employ their assets in the field in different ways to see how best an armored formation should fight.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
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