How often should gunnery skills refreshers be conducted?

Gunnery skills refreshers should be conducted every 6 to 12 months to ensure that personnel maintain a high level of proficiency in their skills. This frequency strikes a balance between ensuring that soldiers are consistently practicing and refining their gunnery abilities, while also allowing sufficient time for them to absorb and internalize training content. Conducting refreshers within this timeframe keeps skills sharp in a demanding field where proficiency can diminish over time due to periods of inactivity or changes in tactics and technology.

While more frequent training, such as monthly, could be beneficial in high-intensity training environments, it may not always be feasible or necessary, especially for units that may not have constant operational demands. Conversely, waiting for a year or more can lead to skill degradation, making it less effective as personnel may forget critical elements of their training. This underscores the importance of striking the right balance in training frequency to both ensure readiness and accommodate the operational tempo of the unit.