By USMC
Ahead of opening the Mason Live Fire Training Range Complex (LFTRC), located at Northwest Field, Yigo, the Marine Corps’ Program Manager for Training Systems will conduct target calibration from Sept. 25 to Oct. 27 and Dec. 4 to 15.
As currently planned, calibration and testing will not take place in the evenings or on weekends.
This will be the first, live-fire activity at the LFTRC and will trigger the establishment of a safety buffer area to ensure public safety while the ranges are in use.
Public access areas at the Guam National Wildlife Refuge are outside the safety buffer area. For more information about visiting the refuge please visit: Guam National Wildlife Refuge | Visit Us | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (fws.gov).
Safety Buffer Area can be found in the National Registrar (Area 2): eCFR :: 33 CFR 334.1425 -- Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Mason Live-Fire Training Range Complex located at U.S. Marine Corps Base, Camp Blaz, on the northwestern coast of Guam; danger zone.
Notices to mariners regarding the safety buffer area will be published at Broadcast Notices to Mariners Search Results | Navigation Center (uscg.gov).
Notices to airmen regarding the safety buffer area will be published at https://notams.aim.faa.gov/notamSearch/.
Raised red flags on the eastern and western boundaries of the range indicate that the LFTRC ranges are active.
As an additional safety measure, the Camp Blaz range facility is equipped with a radar and video suite, which provide advanced notification of a vessel entering the safety buffer area. To ensure the safety of personnel aboard a vessel, live-fire activity will cease until the vessel clears the safety buffer area.
Safety Buffer Area 2: Waters bounded by the following six points: Point A (13°39′7.432″ N; 144°52′8.210″ E) following the mean high water line to Point B (13°38′36.722″ N; 144°52′50.256″ E), following the mean high water line to Point C (13°38′33.936″ N; 144°52′53.031″ E), Point D (13°39′54.724″ N; 144°53′37.400″ E), Point E (13°40′25.737″ N; 144°52′43.157″ E), and Point F (13°40′6.494″ N; 144°52′7.349″ E).
Two of four LFTRC ranges will be equipped with new technology that provides more efficient and effective combat marksmanship training to support combat readiness.
The live-fire location of miss and hit or LOMAH technology, replaces the human element of observing and marking targets. The calibration and testing are to ensure that the LOMAH system is working properly.
LOMAH provides instantaneous feedback from the target back to the shooter. The technology involves a single bar placed on a target to detect the vibration of a round.
Data from the vibration is combined with data on the speed of the round, which is recorded by a laser at the firing line.
These two sets of data feed into a computer algorithm that determines the precise placement of each round. Then that data is relayed back to the shooter via a tablet-like device, enabling the shooter to make small adjustments to improve their marksmanship.
Calibration and testing are meticulous. After each shot, the system will be adjusted to display the exact location the shot hit on the target.
These adjustments will happen until the LOMAH technology is accurately calibrated. Approximately five marksmen will calibrate 50 targets on the Known Distance Rifle Range and 25 targets on the Modified Record of Fire Range. Both of those ranges are used by Marines for annual rifle qualification requirements. (USMC)
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