Fort Campbell, KY – The 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, (Red Currahee) of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) participated in one of the first live-fire exercises in the Army with the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) October 16th-30th, 2024.
This marked a significant milestone in the Army’s modernization project, beginning in 2017. The exercises built Soldier’s proficiency with the Sig Sauer XM7 rifle, XM250 light machine gun, and 6.8 mm ammunition.
During the event, Red Currahee Soldiers conducted tactical patrols using the weapons, having previously earned their qualifications by successfully shooting targets during times of limited visibility. Leaders were evaluated on their ability to control squad-sized elements while navigating rugged terrain at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
“The squad live fire [exercise] is just one of several events involved in the operational assessment,” said Maj. Craig Hymel, executive officer of the 1-506th Infantry Battalion.
“The purpose of this is for the United States Army to put the NGSW through its paces in order to validate that it is appropriate as the replacement for the M4. The squad live [fire] will be the last event in conjunction with the stress shoot that participants execute. At which point, the Operational Assessment Team is going to collect and finalize all the data,” Maj. Mymel stated.
The exercise kicked off only seven months after the weapons were acquired by the battalion to meet the call for the modernization initiative Transformation-in-Contact from Gen. Randy George, 41st Chief of Staff of the Army. Soldiers testing the capabilities and lethality of the NGSW, and its new ammunition continues to drive the Army’s fight tomorrow—today.
Many Soldiers, including Spc. Robert Brown, are looking forward to the weapons and ammunition being fielded to all units. He said that more Soldiers being able to use them would be great for the Army and that it will open more opportunities for innovations in using the weapons.
As the Army progresses with its rollout of the next generation weapons to other units, the 101st Aairborne Division (Airborne) continues to lead the transformation effort. Capt. John Mitchell Green, company commander of Able Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, mentioned the Army has been actively listening to their feedback and making changes that will benefit future units. After Able Co. completed three iterations of live-fire training, he was convinced.
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“This weapon is what we need for the next fight due to what we believe what our adversity capabilities will be,” said Green. “Improving upon this weapon system will only increase our ability if we find ourselves in future conflict or crisis.”
The Army plans to have the next generation squad weapons issued service-wide by 2030.
