Photo By Staff Sgt. Steven Colvin | Spc. Thomas Nitcher (background), an Iron Troop infantryman with 3rd Squadron, 2nd...... read more read more
TAPA TRAINING AREA, Estonia – U.S. Army Iron Troop Soldiers of 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, stationed out of Vilseck, Germany, took training to new heights during Exercise Winter Camp at Tapa Training Area in Estonia, Feb. 16, 2016.
At the start of Winter Camp, Iron Troop Soldiers played the role of the opposing force, while the Estonian Soldiers approached in a full-force attack during Platoon training lanes. The goal of the Estonians was to successfully out flank Iron Troop, defeat them, and take over their battle position; the goal of the U.S. Soldiers was to successfully repel the attack and push the Estonians back out of the area or “destroy” them.
After many hours passed by, the first line of Iron Troop’s defense came under attack and the shooting could be heard from the main battle area at nearly one kilometer away.
Knowing that the enemy was on the move and maneuvering tactically through the woods, Iron Troop Soldiers launched the RQ -11 Raven, a lightweight unmanned aircraft system (UAS), into the sky.
The Raven can be launched in just minutes, by hand, into the air like a model airplane. It is designed for rapid deployment and high-mobility for military and commercial operations and meets Army requirements for low-altitude reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition. The Raven can be operated manually or programmed for autonomous operation, utilizing the system's advanced avionics and GPS navigation. (Information provided via army-technology.com)
“One system I really wanted to test during Winter Camp was the linkage and coordination between the Raven team and my mortar section,” said U.S. Army Capt. Joe Vanderlip, the commander of Iron Troop with 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, stationed out of Vilseck, Germany. “Building that systematic rhythm to minimize the time between the sensor detecting the target and the mortar section getting rounds out of the tube was our main focus for using the Raven.”
After the U.S. Soldiers of Iron Troop launched the Raven, they monitored its flight and watched the hand-held screen for enemy movement. Within minutes, the Soldiers successfully identified an enemy column that was positioned in the woods a few hundred meters away and were avoiding Iron Troop’s outpost by maneuvering to the flank of their battle position.
Soon after the Raven controller informed the commander that enemy forces were identified, the commander directed his 120mm mortar section to engage the enemy Troops, and the Soldiers called in for fire support to “destroy” the enemy force. This was the first time Iron Troop used the Raven during a joint field training exercise like Winter Camp.
“During Winter Camp this year, Iron Troop was task organized under the Estonian Defense Forces Scouts Battalion (EDF),” said Vanderlip. “Building proficiency with the Raven during this Situational Training Exercise (STX) allowed me for the first time to provide the Raven as an asset to the EDF Scouts battalion commander during Force on Force.”
Training exercises like these are part of the U.S. Army Europe-led operations of Atlantic Resolve land force assurance training taking place across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and other Baltic countries. Atlantic Resolve also provides U.S. Soldiers the opportunity to work with and train alongside our NATO allies, forge relationships that foster trust and mutual understanding, strengthen interoperability, and demonstrate the United States’ commitment to the NATO Alliance. (Story by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Steven M. Colvin/Released)
| Date Taken: | 02.16.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 03.03.2016 05:45 |
| Story ID: | 190954 |
| Location: | TAPA, EE |
| Web Views: | 145 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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