FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - Deep in the woods on the
Kentucky-Tennessee line, soldiers who call in powerful weapons like
mortars are learning how to get close enough beforehand to better
identify targets, a key element of the military's new mandate to
reduce Afghan civilian deaths.
The directive to curb civilian casualties, being pushed down the
ranks from colonel to private, is what has three soldiers from the
Army's 101st Airborne Division lying on their bellies atop a berm
on a forested Fort Campbell artillery range. A pair of Kiowa OH-58
helicopters circle around to the right to scout the enemy's
position, which in this training is an empty bunker surrounded by
razor wire.
Mortars start whistling over the tree line and down toward an
open field behind the bunker where a couple of old Army tanks
painted bright yellow help artillery men precisely place the shots.
The soldiers on the berm watch the rounds kick up clouds of dirt
and rock, and a fraction of a second later, the sounds of the
explosions echo back.
For several weeks, the 1st Brigade Combat Team has been focusing
on advanced artillery training that incorporates hours of planning
and carefully assessing targets and firepower as part of the new
rules.
"All planning is based on where you can shoot and where you
can't shoot," said Lt. Col. Randy Harris, the deputy commander of
the 1st Brigade Combat Team.
"Of course the enemy has a vote on that as well," he noted.