Photo By Ashley Roy | Soldiers with Company A, 76th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, Indiana Army National...... read more read more
CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. - Indiana Army National Guard soldiers with the 76th Brigade Special Troops Battalion conducted annual training at Atterbury, near Edinburgh, Ind., June 1-15.
Housing more than 45 military occupational specialties, the 76th BSTB undergoes a variety of training during this two week period to include individual weapons qualification, unmanned aerial system operations, communications and military intelligence, engineering and demolition, command operations and basic warrior tasks.
“Annual Training gives us the ability, even though we’re such a diverse group of skills, to take those skills and mesh them together to come up with the best plans for our Soldiers,” said Maj. Douglas Rapp, 76th BSTB, battalion executive officer.
A large focus this AT is a five day staff training exercise centered on a war game scenario. Bill Rivera, an adviser on staff training, has assisted the unit in training sessions throughout the year, focusing on the military decision making process.
“The culminating training event is we actually get issued an operations order and we have to analyze that order, break it down, present courses of action to our commander and then publish our own order,” said Rapp. Through this exercise, the 76th BSTB was able to accomplish the most difficult parts of the decision making process.
“Everyone has their own small part in it, so it helps us see how it all comes together working in a team environment,” said Spc. Hannah Martin who is training to work in the intelligence section of the 76th BSTB.
The experience gained during this exercise is beneficial to Soldiers with all levels of experience.
Recently out of advanced individual training, Pfc. Jeff Redman, an intelligence analyst with the 76th BSTB, said a lot of the tasks directly correlate with what he learned in AIT. “It was nice to have a real world experience to put everything to use in the war scenario,” he said.
The 76th BSTB’s Shadow Platoon, part of Company B which focuses on military intelligence, is also training; stacking up achievements that showcase them as a highly-trained and mission ready tactical unmanned aerial system platoon.
Responsible for the operation and maintenance of RQ7B Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems, the platoon has logged 64.5 hours of flight time this AT, breaking the current record of most RQ7B Shadow flight hours flown in a semiannual period held by a unit in the Oregon National Guard.
With four months left in the semiannual period and more missions planned that will add to their current flight hours, the 76th BSTB is confident they can add to the record and end the period with more flight hours than any other National Guard unit.
Several landmarks have been hit this AT adding to the platoon’s record breaking training, including most flights in a single day, shortest time between launches and recoveries and operating two UAS aircraft simultaneously while providing battle damage assessment for A10s.
Much of the training has consisted of reconnaissance missions on fellow 76th Soldiers to be sent back to intelligence analysts and a joint training exercise with the Air National Guard and A10s. The platoon has even been training three active duty unmanned aerial system pilots on operating Shadows.
“When Indiana talks about its strategic objectives involving unmanned aerial flight, we want to provide the adjutant general and our chain of command with the best trained troops and the best example of those UAVs. If we want others to come train here, we need to develop our own center of excellence,” said Rapp.
The annual training structure of the 76th BSTB is unique. Some 76th BSTB companies held AT earlier this summer, training alongside the Civilian Expeditionary Workforce and Foreign Service Institute, some will train later this year and some Soldiers are training during this same period, but at Camp Williams, Utah in support of an exercise called Panther Strike.
“I think that the uniqueness really comes from the fact that we’re conducting such diverse training in so many different locations,” said Rapp.
During training, select soldiers across many MOS skill sets were given the opportunity to field test a modular head and full-face protection system comprised of a mandible guard and ballistic visor.
All of the soldiers participating are bringing about valid concerns or praises, said Command Sgt. Maj. Scott Ham, 76th BSTB. Feedback provided by the Soldiers will be used in determining the feasibility of acquiring the system for military use.
Alongside training, the battalion hosted 18 employers and community influencers from throughout the region during the second annual Scorpion Civilian Academy, June 8. Attendees were given an overview of the National Guard and experienced firsthand the simulators, ranges and UAS sites. “We just give them kind of a whirlwind experience,” said Rapp.
The program focuses on providing civilians with a chance to interact with Soldiers, experiencing what they do and seeing where they train, to develop a better understanding of National Guard life. Attendees can speak with the Soldiers to hear their story, their goals and how being a service member affects them.
For Rapp, it is important that people hear Soldiers’ stories and get their perspective on how the National Guard is influencing their lives for the better.
Annual Training is just one example of how the military impacts these Soldiers’ lives, and according to Rapp has been going great.
“This is the one concentrated opportunity where Soldiers get to come be Soldiers, and most of them want to be Soldiers when they get here. With the Soldiers morale is extremely high and the discipline is fantastic. The Soldiers are Soldiering, the leaders are leading and it’s just been a great AT.”
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 06.17.2013 09:55 |
| Story ID: | 108769 |
| Location: | EDINBURGH, INDIANA, US |
| Hometown: | LAWRENCE, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 125 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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