Civic leaders train with Third Army Soldiers in Kuwait as part of JCOC 73

Courtesy Photo | Deepak Advani, chief marketing officer for Lenovo, based in Morrisville, N.C., gets tips from a Soldier while firing the M4 rifle during a live-fire exercise at Camp Buehring, as part of Joint Civilian Orientation Conference.  

05.01.2007

Story by Sgt. Sarah Scully 

40th Public Affairs Detachment

By Sgt. Sarah Scully
40th Public Affairs Detachment

KUWAIT—Braced against a strong, blustery wind, burdened by body armor and blinking away stinging sand, U.S. civilians held onto machine guns in the Kuwaiti desert and fired bullets into targets.

Nominated by the military, 45 Americans holding positions of leadership in education, government and industry arrived at Third Army/U.S. Army Central's training ground in Kuwait April 26 to experience the life of a Soldier.

For nearly 60 years, the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference has helped civilians understand and appreciate what service members go through on a daily basis.

"What's most impressive is how committed the Soldiers are and how proud they are to serve their country," said Chris J. Kanazawa, president and chief executive officer of Parker Ranch in Hawaii, the fifth-largest cattle ranch in America.

"This allows us to go back and share with our respective communities how well-trained our Soldiers are [and] how dedicated they are to the mission."

During two days of orientation and training with USARCENT, the civilians gained an overall view of Third Army's mission in supporting the Global War on Terror from the service members they met at the chow hall and firing ranges.

"This is a great chance to see men and women of the Armed Forces – this is your Army," said Lt. Gen. R. Steven Whitcomb, Third Army/USARCENT commanding general.

"We're proud of what we do."

While at Camp Buehring and the Udairi Range Complex, they also learned about some of the rigorous training Soldiers must complete before deploying north to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Flipped upside down in an up-armored humvee, while on the Humvee Egress Assistance Trainer, they scrambled to get out of the vehicle after a rollover while remaining calm and maintaining security.

It's just a taste of the dangers Soldiers face while on convoys.

They received even more understanding as gunners on a convoy out at the Udairi Range Complex, where simulated explosions and gunfire lent realism to the exercise.

"I was really awed," said Amy Coen, president of Population Action International, an independent research and advocacy organization based out of Washington, D.C.

"I now have some slight appreciation for how scary it really is."

Firing a weapon for the first time, Coen cocked her helmet to one side and adjusted her Interceptor Body Armor before settling down in the sand.

"It's surreal," she said. "Firing the gun was easier than I thought, but everything that went with it was so hard."

Many of the participants said they wanted to experience life in a combat zone to see beyond the media's reporting and hear the troops' opinions.

"I learned that they actually want to know what we're doing over here," said Pfc. Philip Matz, a 20-year-old truck driver and gunner from San Diego, Calif., stationed with the 89th Transportation Company.

"It was nice because they cared."

A few of the participants felt a connection to the troops because they or their family members also served in the military.

"I'm very proud to be out here," said Jay Elmore, a Navy Vietnam War veteran and partner at the law firm, Bondurant, Mixon & Elmore in Atlanta.

"I'm most impressed at the risk involved and the professionalism of the Soldiers that are involved in these convoys."

The civilians also learned close quarters marksmanship and medical training from Soldiers and former military members now working as contractors with MPRI.

"It's nice for them to see what we actually have to go through," said Spc. Michael Galore, an infantryman with 3rd Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment, from Bethel, Alaska.

Galore helped the civilians learn how to fire a variety of weapons and answered questions from James Schmitt, the mayor of Green Bay, Wis., about his life back home and his unit in Kuwait.

"It's work for us over here, but it's also family over here for us," said Galore. "It's good that they got to see how we're doing."

Before leaving the training grounds in UH-60 Black Hawks and MH-53E helicopters, the participants reflected on their experiences and talked with Whitcomb about Third Army's influence on the war.

"We have our young men and women in harm's way defending our country, and I think we owe it to them to learn as much about their experience as possible," said Kanazawa, whose father served as an Army captain in World War II.

"They're making a difference."

• Date Taken: 05.01.2007
• Date Posted: 05.01.2007 11:36
• Story ID: 10193