Story and photos by Sgt. Alex Licea
Third U.S. Army Public Affairs staff
CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar (May 12, 2005) - In a matter for 48 hours, Soldiers have torn down a fully operational military command post, moved tons of equipment more than 350 miles in the dark of night, reorganized and set up the command post at a new location -- all without the benefit of a good night's sleep.
For some, this daunting task could alter a unit's performance and morale, but for Third U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the Early Entry Command Post of the Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC), it's all just part of the job.
EECP training began May 3 and is scheduled to run through May 19 in support of training exercise LUCKY WARRIOR in Qatar. It allows more than 100 Soldiers assigned to Third Army/CFLCC from Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, and Fort McPherson, Ga., to fine tune their battle staff skills in a high-tech, real-world environment.
The EECP is the mobile facility used by Third Army/CFLCC to put its staff's first "boots on the ground" during a wartime operation. It is a compact, but fully operational, military command center capable of moving with the flow of troops during battle.
Third Army's EECP last deployed into harm's way during the initial fighting of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
During the computer-assisted Lucky Warrior exercise now in progress in Qatar, simulated wartime scenarios test the Third Army Soldiers" ability to handle situations that could occur on a real battlefield.
Throughout the exercise, senior military leaders evaluate the proficiency of the Third Army/CFLCC battle staff based on how well the Soldiers employ their "battle drills," which are predetermined procedures used to handle specific situations.
The exercise culminates with 72 hours of continuous battle drills, followed by an after-action review. It is during this AAR that the EECP training participants and their senior leaders will discuss the lessons learned to determine where improvement is needed.
In this case, the internal assessment of the Third Army / CFLCC staff is in preparation not for the battlefields of Iraq or Afghanistan, but for the unit's scheduled participation in the U.S. military's largest overseas training exercise -- BRIGHT STAR. Conducted once every two years in Egypt, BRIGHT STAR draws participation from many other countries.
As the "Patton's Own" Soldiers of Third Army who are participating in Lucky Warrior can attest, the modern Army does indeed train as it fights -- in the dark of night, on foreign soil thousands of miles from home and, when necessary, even with very little sleep.
| Date Taken: | 05.16.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 05.16.2005 10:40 |
| Story ID: | 1836 |
| Location: | CAMP AS SALIYAH, QA |
| Web Views: | 221 |
| Downloads: | 101 |
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