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The Nebraska Army National Guard has a specialized unit of Soldiers that are slowly becoming extinct. Company E (Long-Range Surveillance), 134th Infantry Regiment, (often referred to as just the LRS) is currently one of just a handful of such units left in the U.S. Army.
And while the Army has proposed to deactivate all LRS units in the near future, it hasn’t stopped Nebraska’s team from training to be the best.
In February the LRS had the unique opportunity to participate in a volunteer mission to support 2nd Brigade, Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas, called Operation Danger Focus II.
“Basically, we are the eyes of the commander, letting him know where the enemy is, the enemy composition, disposition and strength,” said Capt. Joshua Metcalf, LRS commander.
From Feb. 7-16, the LRS worked alongside the 1st Infantry Division to conduct deep reconnaissance and surveillance for the entirety of Danger Focus II, perhaps the largest exercise Nebraska’s LRS has participated in to date.
“Working for a brigade element isn’t foreign to us at all,” Metcalf said. “Still, as far as a pure LRS mission, this is probably the best event we’ve participated in. It was very long hours, both physically and mentally demanding, with tactical, administrative and logistical and sustainment challenges all mixed together. I am very proud of everyone who participated in the level of dedication to ensuring that these challenging missions were executed to their fullest potential.”
Staff Sgt. Thomas Shirey, a team leader who has been with the LRS for eight years, said Danger Focus II was unique because it was the first time he can recall working on such a large-scale mission.
“A lot of other missions we do are training only and typically at a company level,” Shirey said. “This time we’re actually being utilized with another unit to show off what we can do and assist them on their mission.”
Another team leader, Staff Sgt. Dominic Rossitto, agreed with Shirey both on the amount of practical application their Soldiers were receiving at Danger Focus II and their overall exposure to the U.S. Army.
“It’s wonderful to be able to work with Big Army, while being in the National Guard,” Rossitto said. “With this unit being as specialized as we are, it’s nice to show them what we can do, our accessibility and expertise, and to let them know that if you need anything that we can provide, that we’re more than welcome to help you out with anything you need.”
Rossitto said the hands-on, real-mission training gives the LRS Soldiers better understanding of their individual jobs, while also shining a broader light to what they can do as a company.
“This is a great opportunity for us to work with the active duty and to show them what we are,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Marty Baker, Nebraska Army National Guard state command sergeant major, while visiting with the LRS at Fort Riley on Feb. 10. “This is what you folks do. You make Nebraska proud.”
Baker said he was proud of all the Nebraska Soldiers who “volunteered” for Danger Focus II. The mission was considered volunteer for Co. E as their official two-weeks of annual training was scheduled for later in the year. Participating in Danger Focus II was helpful for annual training preparation.
Metcalf said Co. E is currently slated to attend Exercise AURORA 17, a Swedish National Defense Exercise with seven countries and around 30,000 personnel participating this September.
“Our company will be conducting multiple airborne exercises facilitating insertion to execute our LRS mission essential tasks of conducting long-ranger surveillance operations, reporting on priority intelligence requirements and developing the battlefield for our higher headquarters,” Metcalf said. “Operation Danger Focus II was a great test to ensure that we are ready to go participate in yet an even larger scale training scenario.”
Rossitto agrees the Danger Focus mission helped with preparing the LRS Soldiers for their upcoming overseas training. “It helps them with repetition to give them more confidence, refining their skills and broadening their horizons,” Rossitto said.
While some Soldiers were initially hesitant to work with an active duty element, Sgt. Austin Stinger said working with the 1st Infantry Division was the best training by allowing his team to see how larger units organize and operate.
“It was a whole new environment and a good learning experience to work side-by-side,” Stinger said. “Everyone got along really well. It seems like everyone was there to help fight the same fight.”
Even with the future of the Army’s LRS units unclear, the Nebraska National Guard’s Company E (Long-Range Surveillance), 134th Infantry Regiment, has no plans to slow down. Co. E Soldiers are ready for their upcoming mission to Sweden and hope to continue to show their relevance to the Army’s overall mission.
“We don’t know the future of the LRS, but we’re going to drive on and continue to do what we do and we’re going to do it well,” Baker said.
| Date Taken: | 06.01.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 12.14.2017 09:09 |
| Story ID: | 258836 |
| Location: | KANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 605 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Guard’s long-range surveillance Soldiers train with active Army units in February, by Lisa Crawford, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
