Photo By Winifred Brown | Soldiers assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Regiment, New Mexico...... read more read more
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By Wendy Brown
Fort Bliss Bugle
OROGRANDE RANGE, N.M. – One after the other, teams of Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Regiment, and the 126th Military Police Company, New Mexico Army National Guard, entered buildings designed to help them master Military Operations in Urban Terrain.
They entered as teams and left as teams, staying together throughout the process of making sure they had entirely cleared the structures of any possible threat.
“This training is really important for my squad because it’s a lot of what we do in real life,” said Staff Sgt. Charles Davis, a squad leader assigned to 3rd Platoon, 126th MP Co., during training at Range 87 here Aug. 12. “Real life combat is clearing rooms, and like everything else in life, practice makes perfect.”
The training was part of the companies’ two weeks of annual training, and they came together after one company commander talked to the other and they decided their skills sets and training objectives meshed well for a joint exercise, said Maj. Ali Dipour, executive officer, 1st Bn., 200th Inf. Regt., headquartered in Las Cruces, N.M. They practiced all the basics and then came together for a culminating exercise where the MPs took on the infantrymen.
Capt. Nathan Oliver, commander, Company B, 1st Bn., 200th Inf. Regt., said he wanted to do something a little different for the training and make it more collective, so when he saw that the 126th MP Co. had the range reserved, he called Capt. Justin Bonds, commander, 126th MP Co., to see if he was interested combined training. He was.
“Instead of just doing company-level training, which is what we always do, it’s good for them to get experience with other companies outside of our battalion and outside of our area of specialty,” Oliver said.
Bonds said he thought it was a great opportunity to work with the infantry, which isn’t something his company gets to do often.
“In theater we’d be working with infantry and probably attached to an (infantry brigade combat team) or a brigade combat team or something along those lines, so it’s always nice to be able to get some of that rapport, practicing what we would be doing in theater,” Bonds said. “It’s a good training in that regard.”
Also, New Mexico Army National Guard units often have to work together during state emergencies, so it’s good for the units’ staff members to get to know one another, Bonds said.
“Having the opportunity to come out and work together, get to know each other’s staffs, to cooperate collaboratively, is a really great opportunity to build that teamwork,” Bonds said.
While the units have different missions, many of their skill sets overlap, and the MOUT training allowed both units to highlight their strengths.
Spc. Cheyanne Hidalgo, assigned to the 126th MP Co., said she appreciated the repetitive nature of the training, which made everything they did muscle memory. Also, since they operate as a unit when entering buildings, she appreciated the opportunity to get to know her fellow Soldiers better.
“You come together and you’re actually spending time together for two weeks and so you start to know what each other is thinking,” Hidalgo said.
Pfc. Joshua Heath, assigned to Co. B, 1st Bn., 200th Inf. Regt., said it was no different on the infantry side – he was glad to learn how to communicate better with his MOUT team.
“It lets all the guys connect and see how they move and communication is key,” Heath said. “The training is awesome because we actually get to be out here with rounds and kicking in doors and stuff like that. Real-world scenarios as much as we can.”
| Date Taken: | 09.28.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 09.28.2017 17:48 |
| Story ID: | 249969 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, NEW MEXICO, US |
| Web Views: | 151 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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