Photo By Staff Sgt. Adam Keith | Spc. Gabriel Ward, a postal clerk with the 18th Human Resources Company, conducts...... read more read more
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Soaring temperatures didn’t discourage the Soldiers of the 18th Human Resources Company during a three-day field training exercise that began June 15 on Fort Bragg, N.C.
The company first sergeant, 1st Sgt. Millisa Bradford, said the key to the unit’s success during the field rotation was motivation, proper hydration, ice, and work-rest cycles.
“Day one was rough, it was the hottest day out here and we were doing setup, so it was a lot of manual labor,” said Bradford. “We came prepared and the Soldiers were excited to do something they don’t get to do every day.”
Along with beating the heat, the 82nd Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade Soldiers focused on personnel accountability, postal operations, vehicle recovery operations, casualty liaison team operations, tactical squad level lanes and postal rodeo missions.
Because Bradford’s company is broken down into two postal platoons and two multifunctional HR platoons that perform casualty and personnel accountability, she said the unit would rarely deploy together.
“A company FTX like this is a good opportunity for us to build cohesion because we have different missions,” said Bradford. “What it has allowed us to do is to take our postal Soldiers and teach them other human resources tasks and take those human resources Soldiers and teach them postal tasks.”
“That’s important because as human resource specialists they could find themselves doing either job,” she added.
Spc. Gabriel Ward, a postal clerk with the 18th HRC, said he learned a lot during the FTX, including how to deal with the sweltering temperatures.
“The heat has been a real challenge. It really affects your performance and your hygiene,” said Ward. “There are hotter places out there though, and this is great training because it’s preparing us if we get the call to go to a location where it gets even hotter than this.”
Ward said he was put in charge of a group of less experienced Soldiers during some of the training lanes. He was tasked with getting his team through the scenarios while dealing with the very real threat the heat presented.
“It’s been a great because we have new Soldiers who are learning a lot and I’m learning a lot, especially how to train Soldiers in this type of environment,” said Ward. “During the missions I was able to throw in ideas, execute them and then take my Soldiers off to the side and do rehearsals, all while keeping an eye on my team and making sure we are staying hydrated.”
Bradford said it was important for her Soldiers to not only train on the tactical tasks, but also get a sense of their importance at a strategic level because they don’t always get to link the information they process to the warfighters.
“We can get detached from operations, and that can make it hard for our younger Soldiers to see where they fit in,” said Bradford. “So what we’ve required them to do during our tactical lanes when there is a casualty is to call it up and activate our casualty cell. Our personal cell then identifies that casualty and reports the need for a replacement.”
After completing the final day of training, Ward, sweating, tired and smiling, said for him, the FTX was about knowing your Soldiers, knowing your limits and making the most of the training.
“It’s great to get out of the office and get a refresher on battle drills and have a chance to step up front and lead,” he said. “Out here you are able to get hands on and get to know your Soldiers, and yourself, better.”
| Date Taken: | 06.24.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.24.2015 13:15 |
| Story ID: | 167944 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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