MI soldiers conduct field training

Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Stephan Pietrasko, an analyst with Alpha Company, 741st Military Intelligence Battalion, 704th MI Brigade, Pfc. Amerietz Luangasa, a linguist with Charlie Company, 741st MI Bn., and Pfc. Hayden Vass, an analyst with A Company, 741st MI Bn., participate in a field training exercise March 23, at Camp Fretterd, Md.  

CAMP FRETTERD, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES

03.22.2013

Courtesy Story

704th Military Intelligence Brigade

CAMP FRETTERD, Md. - Soldiers with Alpha Company, 741st Military Intelligence Battalion, 704th MI Brigade, traveled to Camp Fretterd, Md., to participate in a field training exercise March 22 to 24. The soldiers conducted battle drill training.

The leadership of Alpha Company 741st MI BN planned and prepared a field training exercise (FTX) that would give its soldiers a unique opportunity to leave behind the keyboards of their respective offices and experience training in a field environment. Camp Fretterd – a 564 acre Maryland Army National Guard installation located approximately five miles northwest of Reisterstown in Baltimore County, Maryland – hosted the soldiers of Alpha Company during the three-day training event from 22 to 24 March. Soldiers conducted training on the following battle drill subject areas: medical evacuation, land navigation, and tactical movement. During the medical evacuation and tactical movement lanes, soldiers navigated the scenarios as platoon-sized elements, with squad leaders relaying orders and giving instructions to their team leaders. During the land navigation lane, each soldier was tested individually, moving from point to point, capturing a stamp which was located at each point.

The preparations were immense; from coordinating the issuance of TA-50 from Fort Belvoir, to arranging the Sergeants Time Training (STT) topics for the weeks leading up to the FTX so as to prepare the soldiers for the real-world scenarios on which they were to be evaluated. The training was complimented by each soldier being issued and wearing TA-50, the same gear that soldiers who are preparing for a deployment would wear during pre-deployment training, as well as during the deployment itself. Soldiers performed the warrior tasks and battle drills donning an Advanced Combat helmet, Interceptor Body Armor, a MOLLE tactical vest, and individual weapons.

Sgt. 1st Class Voogt and Sgt. 1st Class Wombacher, pulled from their respective tactical experience to prepare and supervise the training for the tactical movement lane of the FTX. In the scenario, each platoon conducted a patrol along a road, through the dense brush of Camp Fretterd, and across several danger areas. The biting wind subsided as the element moved into the wooded area, but respite wasn’t found for long; each platoon took contact from an enemy element superior in number and was forced to lay down covering fire while bounding squad-by-squad to a safe location where they proceeded to report the contact to the Tactical Operations Center (TOC). The orders they received were to continue with mission. And so they did, passing by Camp Fretterd’s magnificent man-made lake, along another road, and finishing off the lane with very beneficial and constructive comments during the after-action report.

After having already conducted two separate STT classes on application of medical dressings and tourniquets in preparation for evaluation at the FTX, Sgt. 1st Class Christensen and Staff Sgt. Turpin, conducted the briefings and supervised two different scenarios for their medical evacuation lane. Soldiers moved tactically to the sites for the scenarios. Upon arrival, half of the platoon secured the area while the aid and litter teams conducted triage on an assortment of personnel, from “injured” U.S. forces and Afghan National Army, to civilians and even enemy personnel. The “casualties” were marked with white or red tape, signifying light or severe wounds respectively. Once the casualties were properly identified and appropriate dressings were applied to their wounds, they were transported to the site where the Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) was to take place. As noted by Sgt. 1st Class Christensen, every platoon performed very well during the lane; from securing the areas, to triage and treatment, to even providing security for the transport of casualties, every platoon moved deftly through the scenarios without any conflict.

Sgt. 1st Class Costa and Staff Sgt. Quinoñes, provided the soldiers of each platoon with each of the following: a compass, protractor, map of the area, and kind word of guidance when needed. After having plotted the points on a map and calculated the distance and direction from point to point, each soldier faced the dense woodlands and thick brush of Camp Fretterd. So rigorous was the terrain that one needed to ascend and descend many large hills and tip toe on several rocks to cross a stream, all the while carrying upwards of 40 lbs. of gear and a water source. According to Sgt. 1st Class Costa, not a single soldier who completed the land navigation course did so without working up quite a sweat, some even having to reenter the course to make up for mismarked points.

The final task was training at the Engagement Skills Trainer 2000 – the Army electronic marksmanship simulator – on crew-served weapons. Sgt. 1st Class Wombacher and Staff Sgt. Renner, instructed soldiers on not only the use of the weapon systems used at the simulation range, but also pulled from their experience to teach soldiers key points about how the real-world M2s, M240Bs, and M249s function and the differences between each weapon system. After several familiarization rounds with each weapon, soldiers competed at the platoon level on accuracy, confirmed kills, and shots fired to determine the two best-firing soldiers who would ultimately represent the platoon in a company-level competition.
When all was said and done, the soldiers of Alpha Company realized a new found appreciation of their leadership and abilities to function as members of a team, while establishing Esprit de Corps and improving unit cohesion. Such was the success of this FTX that the soldiers are already looking forward to the next one where they hope to build even further on the leadership and tactical skills they have learned.

• Date Taken: 03.22.2013
• Date Posted: 04.18.2013 10:41
• Story ID: 105405
• Location: CAMP FRETTERD, MARYLAND, US