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Soldiers from the newly-formed 128th Engineer Battalion put some newly-learned skills to the test this summer when they participated in took part in breaching operations for urban environments during their annual training at the Greenlief Training Site near Hastings, Nebraska, June 19.
The exercise was designed to help the new Army Guard engineers hone their battlefield breaching skills by giving them the opportunity to practice placing and then setting off confidence charges and door breaches at a demolition range at the training site. The goal, say unit leaders, is to reinforce skillset the Soldiers are required to have as engineers.
“In a combat situation, the men and women training today would be the first to breach an obstacle on the battlefield that restricts maneuverability,” said Capt. Luke Ritz, 128th Eng. Bn. Staff officer. “These combat engineers would go in and eliminate the obstacle so the maneuver elements can move through the field.”
Soldiers created charges using C-4 explosives and detonating cord to simulate clearing breaching lanes.
“It’s a good practice of a real-world training element that can be applied here, said Master Sgt. Christine Raftery, 128th Eng. Bn. Operation's noncommissioned officer. She explained that confidence charges are what is used to clear anti-tank mines on a battlefield or IED in an urban environment.
The combat engineers also practiced building C-charges, which are used to breach locked doors.
“In a real world situation where a locked door needs to be breached with minimal damage to the frame, our engineers can place a C-charge, detonate and breach a locked door at close proximity in very little time, allowing Soldiers to enter the building,” said Raftery.
The annual training was the first for the battalion since it came to existence in September 2016 when the 67th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade transformed into the 67th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, affecting nearly one-in-three Nebraska Army National Guard Soldiers. “For many members of the 128th, today was their first time with hands-on demolition experience since formal training they received in combat engineer school,” said Lt. Col. Todd Stevens, 128th Engineer Battalion commander, which is headquartered in Columbus. “A lot of people want to try something different and the engineer mission is a pretty fun mission to have as a Soldier, he said.”
“I love this unit and it’s a lot of fun,” said Spc. Tyrell Turner, a California National Guard transfer who came to Nebraska to wrestle for Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln. “We’ve been doing a lot of new things and I’ve been able to see and be involved in the big picture more and not just what happens at the company level.”
The engineer battalion also brings back a new element into the Nebraska Army National Guard that has been absent for decades.
“We are the first engineering battalion Nebraska has had in a long time and the transformation process is going well,” Stevens said. “Of course we have had a few bumps, but strength-wise, we are sitting well. We are working our way through some individual readiness issues and getting people duty-qualified and to the right schools at the right time.”
“Right now, we are in the first training year, so we have about four more years before we would be “ready” per the way the training guidance is rolled out,” said Stevens. “We prefer to be ready a little earlier than that, which is pretty realistic.”
| Date Taken: | 11.20.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 12.12.2017 11:57 |
| Story ID: | 258424 |
| Location: | LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 46 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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