Photo By Master Sgt. Gary Witte | U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Eric T. Schmith, a platoon leader with the 363rd Military Police...... read more read more
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FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, Calif. - Take parts of a U.S. Army Reserve unit that don’t normally train together, mix well and liberally add enemy firefights.
With hard work, you may see results similar to the achievements of the 363rd Military Police Company during the Warrior Exercise training operation at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., in March. After half the unit was tasked elsewhere, two squads – each from different parts of West Virginia – and a third from Pittsburgh were sent to the multi-week joint training exercise as a single element.
U.S. Army Sgt. Chad D. Webster of Morgantown, W.Va., a team leader, said the Soldiers drew together quickly. They began holding extra training during their downtime and veterans in the unit shared their knowledge with the newer Soldiers – many who had only recently completed their initial military training.
“Anyone who had been deployed or had experience on the civilian side, they threw it in there,” Webster said of the three squads. “We’ve worked together here and there, but not … where we’re completely integrated.”
First Lt. Lucas Collins of Mechanicsburg, Pa., the acting commander, said he hopes his soldiers will take the knowledge gained here and share it with the rest of the company.
“The Soldiers have really bonded well,” Collins said. “They’ve become a cohesive unit out here and they’ve done that from day one.”
The unit, heavily tasked with activities such as cordon and search patrols, security patrols and base defense, ran at least a mission a day once 24-hour operations began. The overall scenario of the exercise simulated nation-rebuilding efforts.
“Our tempo has been pretty high up to this point,” Collins said. “They’ve responded well to the intensity level.”
Even as the challenges grew, another squad-sized element from the 447th Military Police Company out of North Canton, Ohio, was thrown into the blend.
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Lahomma D. Fowler of Morgantown, W.V., acting first sergeant for the 363rd MP Co., said the leadership worked through the typical “bumps in the road” of attaching them to the element while running missions.
“It always takes a couple of days to get into the groove when you’re integrating a new group,” she said, adding that it has gone well since then.
Real world challenges flowed side-by side with simulated ones during the exercise. The 363rd MP Co. last deployed to Iraq in 2009 and Fowler said the training scenarios their Soldiers have faced at Fort Hunter Liggett have been realistic ones.
“They have outstanding role-players and that makes all the difference,” Fowler said. “Our guys who have deployed before are saying it’s right on key.”
U.S. Army Pfc. Daniel W. Palazzo of Montgomery, Pa., a gunner for the unit who deployed to Iraq, said the situations the unit faced during the exercise, helped show that not every situation calls for force.
“Sometimes you’ve got to take your finger off the trigger and take it easy,” he said. “An aggressive posture is not going to win the hearts and minds.”
Collins said the exercise had the additional benefit of allowing soldiers to use skills they may not be able to practice during typical training weekends. The Pittsburgh unit, for instance, would normally have to travel almost two hours to get into a field environment, he said.
During the 24-hour operations portion of the Warrior Exercise, the unit has faced personnel shortages through simulated casualties, rapid changes of missions and equipment challenges.
“They have to make sure the equipment is ready for the next day,” Collins said. “It’s a continual process of checking over the vehicles. Checking over personnel, weaponry. Checking over communications equipment. Everything.”
U.S. Army Pfc. Ethan Rensel of Portersville, Pa., a driver for the unit, said he did not expect the training to be as good as it turned out to be. He now believes the missions, ranging from hunting explosive device makers to dealing with local nations, helped get him ready for possible deployment.
“In the short time we’ve been here, I’ve learned a lot,” he said.
The enemy hasn’t always been the ones teaching the lessons. The first sergeant described one early morning event when the enemy forces, known as OPFOR, were about to attack the camp’s main gate while members of the unit were on guard.
The team leader at the gate, having just gotten intelligence about the impending attack, knew that another section of the unit was soon returning from a patrol and radioed for assistance. Between the armored vehicles and gunfire from the unit at the gate, the enemy was eliminated, Fowler said.
“The OPFOR were pretty surprised we had [communication] between the two and they were working together,” she said, smiling.
| Date Taken: | 03.23.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 04.01.2013 15:41 |
| Story ID: | 104424 |
| Location: | FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | MECHANICSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Hometown: | MONTGOMERY, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Hometown: | MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 164 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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