Longhorn Battalion Conducts Annual Weapons FTX

While their friends were fast asleep, about 70 cadets from varying degree disciplines and backgrounds loaded their rucks and equipment on a truck for the 2-hour drive to San Antonio. The first day of the FTX served as a familiarization for the cadets with the M16 weapon system. Cadets learned about bullet trajectory and accuracy in an informative class given by Major McFarland. Cadets were also taught about basic rifle maintenance and cleaning practices by a couple of the prior service cadets in the Longhorn Battalion. The busy day of training culminated with room-clearing exercises taught by former Ranger Instructor Master Sergeant Silva. The cadets then got some much-needed rest before the next day of training.

The next morning began with hot chow in the dining facility followed by more in-depth room-clearing training based upon the instruction of four Special Forces soldiers with close ties to the Longhorn Battalion. After the completion of room-clearing training, the cadets then moved to the zero range. The cadets used the zero range to help them determine the best setting and configuration for the M16 weapon sights to ensure the accuracy of their rifles.

Once all cadets zeroed their rifles, they then moved to the multi-purpose machine gun (MPMG) range to qualify on the M16. Due to an excessive amount of ammunition and time, all of the cadets were allowed to fire multiple times on the range with their M16. Once all of the ammunition was expended, then the cadets returned home to return to their normal lives as college students.