Photo By Master Sgt. Peter Morrison | U.S. Soldiers with the 251st Engineer Company, navigate an iRobot PackBot through an...... read more read more
AUBURN, Maine - The robot’s arm extends slowly toward the unidentified object and lines up its gripper claw to pick up the golf ball sized explosive. With one last adjustment, the gripper closes, lifting the object out of the sand and securing it for travel.
Pfc. Christopher Ardaudin from Saco, a combat engineer with the 251st Engineer Company, Maine Army National Guard is taking his turn on the robotics obstacle course at the unit’s annual “Sapper Stakes” Saturday, Sept. 7 at Mount Apatite in Auburn.
“Sapper Stakes is a competition that promotes squad cohesion, esprit de corps, and it’s based on things we’ve been training on over the past year,” explains Sgt. Christopher Edgecomb, a combat engineer with the unit and a supervisor for the competition.
During the three-day competition, which kicked off Friday, squads from three platoons went head to head in a range of events to test their knowledge and proficiency on skills they’ve been learning all year. The events on the first day included a push-up contest, Army combatives and a written demolitions exam. Each winning squad was awarded points depending on how well they performed.
“It is a competition, so everyone wants to be the best,” said Spc. Timothy Aguilar, a combat engineer in 1st Platoon, 2nd Squad from Orono. “But it shows each squad what they’re weak in, and what needs more training.”
On Saturday, the squads rotated through three stations where they were presented with another set of challenges to test their endurance and proficiency.
Soldiers participated in the hardest event of the day while wearing body armor, carrying weapons and dragging a 130 pound stretcher up a one mile hill. Along the way they stopped at three stations to test their proficiency in disassembling and reassembling weapons, calling for artillery fire, and calling in a medical evacuation request. After the last station, the squads turned around to make the one mile trip back down the trail to the finish line.
Edgecomb was in charge of the weapons station, where soldiers were timed while breaking down and reassembling the M16 rifle, and the M249 and 240B machine guns. “It’s good to watch these guys, as National Guard soldiers it shows a lot about how good they really are, especially with the weapons,” Edgecomb said, “Not only are they testing themselves as a squad, but they’re learning things they’ll need down the road.”
Other events included a knot tying quiz, and the robotics obstacle course where six soldiers from each squad used remote-controlled robots to navigate ditches, logs and tunnels in order to retrieve golf balls spread across the course. The soldiers could choose from two robots, the TALON or the iRobot PackBot, each one designed to look for, and secure, suspected improvised explosive devices.
“[This competition] really keeps you practicing year-round, it keeps you engaged, and you’re learning,” said Spc. Jeffrey Shock, a combat engineer in 2nd Platoon, 1st Squad from West Paris, Maine. “It’s cool to actually be able to apply the training we’ve received all year.”
On Sunday, the squads from the 251st completed a 10 km road march and an engineer reconnaissance mission as a culmination of the competition events. 1st Squad of 1st Platoon led by Staff Sgt. Justin Middleton won the overall event.
Araaudin was pleased with the event. “Everyone’s in good spirits and working together as a team, it’s a great atmosphere,” he said. “We’re always learning something new, we’re competing against each other now, but together we all get along and I’m proud to be part of the 251st Engineer Company.”
| Date Taken: | 09.08.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2013 10:51 |
| Story ID: | 113520 |
| Location: | AUBURN, MAINE, US |
| Hometown: | AUBURN, MAINE, US |
| Hometown: | ORONO, MAINE, US |
| Hometown: | SACO, MAINE, US |
| Hometown: | WEST PARIS, MAINE, US |
| Web Views: | 530 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Sapper Stakes Solidifies Skills, by SGT Adam Simmler, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
