Photo By Master Sgt. Alex Ramos | The 43rd Sustainment Brigade hat is on display during classroom portion of a pre-air...... read more read more
FORT CARSON, Colo. - Thunderous shouts resonate off the walls of a headquarters building, as the moon’s glow provides a glimpse of mist escaping the silhouettes standing in formation.
“Air assault. Air assault. Air assault,” is chanted by the Soldiers in the cold, early morning.
The 15 Soldiers are part of a pre-air assault pilot course conducted on Fort Carson by the 43rd Sustainment Brigade, May 12-14.
“This pre-Air Assault course is a preparatory measure that we’ve done to help assist our Soldiers to be more successful when they go to Air Assault School,” said Sgt. 1st. Class Paul Zyskowski, senior waters operations noncommissioned officer, 43rd SB, who served as the operations NCO for the course.
“We are trying to mirror the exact same settings, or the exact same conditions, as the Air Assault School,” said Zyskowski. “This way that muscle memory and the mental capabilities, or data input, are going to be present and they’ll be able to open the folder and retrieve the data that they need and apply the data in a timely manner, under stressful conditions.”
Although Soldiers prepared mentally for the course, the stressful conditions were unexpected, said Sgt. Alberto Ortiz, wheeled vehicle mechanic, Headquarters Support Company, 404th Aviation Support Battalion, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade.
“As I stood in formation the first day, I was in shock,” said Ortiz. “It was not how I had pictured [it] in my head. Screaming and yelling, seconds to complete tasks that would usually take a couple of minutes. It was a real wake-up call.”
The three-day course was designed to both physically and mentally prepare potential Air Assault candidates and provide them with an idea of what they can expect when they go to the course, said Command Sgt. Maj. Jacinto Garza, senior enlisted adviser, 43rd Special Troops Battalion, 43rd SB.
“Candidates get the opportunity to negotiate the obstacle course, conduct an Army physical fitness test and a 12-mile foot march in a three-day span. Our candidates get blocks of instruction on the identification of aircraft, hand and arm signals, slingload operations and preparation of their individual Swiss seats for rappelling,” said Garza. “Upon the completion of this course, Soldiers and leaders can assess their candidates and make good decisions on whether the candidate is ready for Air Assault School or if the candidate needs to continue preparing. In the end, this course was designed to improve the candidates’ chances of being successful at the Air Assault School.”
In the past, Soldiers have relied on seeking out a subject-matter expert within the unit to help them prepare. The pre-Air Assault course has researched the data for all objectives, said Zyskowski.
“There are units who are doing some internal training and they are doing some good stuff. The problem is, are they doing the right stuff and do they have the data that we have based off results from … Air Assault School?” he said. “We’re in direct communication with the head of the schoolhouse. Having that data is the most valuable portion of this course.”
That data, combined with the experience of the cadre, is what made the course run smoothly, said Zyskowski.
“This course was a success,” said Garza. “It was a pilot program and we have since made some adjustments to the training schedule and added a few more objectives. We queried the brigade, found the right cadre that were either air assault, pathfinder or sling-load certified and conducted the training in a professional manner. We had all the resources needed to reach the command’s intent. That intent was to prepare Soldiers for Air Assault School.”
All 15 Soldiers completed the course, but only five were selected to proceed to Air Assault School, a testament to how tough the pilot program was, Ortiz said to prospective students. “Make sure [you] prepare before attending the pre-course,” said Ortiz. “Don’t show up thinking it’s going to be a walk in the park. The pre-course is as tough as the actual air assault course.”
| Date Taken: | 05.14.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2014 13:12 |
| Story ID: | 131197 |
| Location: | FORT CARSON, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 371 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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