RODRIGUEZ RANGE, South Korea — The blasts echo over barren hills and shrubbery — the perfect setting to test a Bradley fighting vehicle’s firepower.

Twice a year, Bradley companies get an opportunity to gauge their skill and mettle during gunnery qualifications.

Drivers, commanders and gunners practice obliterating still and moving targets while the dismounts — the soldiers who ride inside the Bradley — practice infantry skills such as storming an enemy bunker.

“This is why soldiers join the Army — to do this stuff,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Southcott, commander of the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment based at Camp Hovey. “Live-fire training is the highlight of training. It’s the culmination, bringing everything together from your training.”

The battalion will spend the next month at the range, sleeping in spartan barracks and spending most waking hours training. Living at the expansive range helps soldiers focus and allows more freedom to train day and night, Southcott said. “It’s a training-rich environment. It’s a lot different than sharing a range back at garrison.”

The Bradley crews and dismounts train separately at first. Crews practice firing and maneuvering; dismounts practice infantry skills and shooting. But for the final part, both are to work in tandem, with live fire. The exercises start small. Squads, then platoons and finally companies work together.

“We don’t leave until they all qualify,” said Maj. Reggie Cotton, battalion executive officer.

Bradley crews begin with stationary training, practicing communication and firing first.

“It allows the gunner and BC (Bradley commander) to work together,” Cotton said.

They later add motion, giving the drivers some practice.

“It’s pretty hard to get used to the size and the weight” of a Bradley, said Alpha Company Pfc. Thomas Owens, a driver. A Bradley, he said, is absolutely nothing like driving a car.

“It’s the biggest thing we do all year,” said 2nd Lt. Judd Bennett, Bradley commander with Alpha Company. “It’s a lot of planning and a lot of prepping. Something always comes up.”

The infantry dismounts start their missions with a dry run, then use blanks and finally live fire.

They’re monitored first by evaluators from other battalions and later by the battalion leaders.

Evaluators look for factors such as whether the fire team runs out of ammunition at the same time, if anyone stands too high and becomes a target and if troops run in the line of the Bradleys’ fire.

“It’s all about coordination,” Cotton said. “No matter how well you do, you can always do better.”

The biggest obstacles during the exercise, soldiers said, are weather and troop turnover. Most serve a one-year tour, so new troops always need training.

“The personnel turbulence in Korea is one of our biggest challenges,” Southcott said.

Weather creates its own challenges. This time of year in South Korea it can snow one day and bake the next. And fog can stop Bradley drivers in their tracks.

“You’ve got to be very flexible,” Southcott said. “But what’s so great about that is it’s a good learning experience.”

The terrain — it’s a short drive to the Demilitarized Zone separating South and North Korea — also adds to the authentic environment.

“That we get to train on the same ground that we might have to fight on someday makes it more exciting to me and my soldiers,” Southcott said. “The training we do here is so relevant.”