Chief Warrant Officer 2 Franky Caraska, vessel master, assigned to the 709th Transportation Company, Heavy Boat, out of Tacoma, Wash., fires an M-249 during a live-fire range May 5, 2011, in the Persian Gulf. The range was part of “Granite Shield,” which is a program designed to keep soldiers within the 1st Theatre Sustainment Command trained up on basic soldiering skills. “A range at sea is very unique,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Franky Caraska, vessel master, assigned to the 709th Transportation Company, Heavy Boat, out of Tacoma, Wash. “Here, the boat is pitching and rolling, so the gunner has to take that into consideration as well as the target. What the gunner is shooting at is moving and the platform the gunner is shooting from is moving so there are a lot of variables there.”