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“The purpose of the FTX is two-fold,” said Col. Joe Escandon, Strike commander. “It first, is to test the unit as a brigade combat team in its ability to execute its mission essential task list. The second purpose of it is to prepare us to go to the Joint Readiness Training Center.”
The brigade tackled three of the major items on its essential task list during the week-long exercise: conduct a brigade level air assault, establish a defensive posture and organize an attack.
Escandon said the highlight of the exercise was the execution of a brigade-size air assault, something that is not a regular occurrence during training events.
“With our partners in the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, we were able to surge a large amount of aircraft so that we could conduct an air assault with two battalions,” Escandon said. “Plus, we were able to sling load vehicles as part of that; it wasn’t just Soldiers being moved. We were also able to lift in one battery of artillery and execute mission command from a command and control aircraft from overhead while it was going on.”
In terms of training and synchronization of many moving pieces, Escandon said the air assault was a huge undertaking that the Strike Soldiers accomplished very well, a sentiment echoed by division leadership.
“We are the world’s only air assault division,” said Brig. Gen. John W. Brennan Jr., 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) deputy commanding general for operations, who was on hand to observe portions of the training. “Tough and realistic training like this ensures we maintain the competitive edge necessary to defeat any potential adversary. It also ensures we sustain our proficiency as the Army’s subject matter expert and go-to division for air assault operations.”
Spc. Zach Mcinnis, a team leader with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, said with the high turnover of personnel recently, the FTX was the easiest way to get everyone up to speed.
“The first mission was mostly our newer guys getting used to our pace and how each team leader operates, but they learned fast,” Mcinnis said. “For us, it went pretty well, but we are always pretty good in the field.
Mcinnis said he understands that by doing training here, before they deploy, teams will be better prepared, and everything will run smoother
Following the air assault mission, 2nd Brigade Soldiers had to change focuses and prepare for offensive, as well as defensive operations, while engaging with 1st Brigade Combat Team Soldiers as they filled the role of an opposing force.
“That was a major task that we wanted to train [because] our Army has not had to do a traditional area defense in a long time,” Escandon said. “We wanted to train that because you never know when we may have to do that in the near future in this contemporary operating environment.”
Platoon sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class Justin Schafer, A Co, 1st Bn., 26th Inf. Regt., 2nd Brigade, said he felt the field exercise helped his platoon to become stronger and more prepared for the challenges of JRTC.
“The FTX showed the Soldiers in the platoon what it is like at a high operational tempo in a brigade,” Schafer said. “The tempo was challenging because you went from doing a defense mission, to an air assault, then back to defense and then attack.”
Although it was fast paced, Schafer said he felt exercises like this creates flexibility in Soldiers to be able to go from one mission to the next quickly.
“I could not be more proud of the strength and adaptability of these Strike Soldiers, or of the leadership of the brigade’s junior noncommissioned officers,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Todd W. Sims, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) senior enlisted leader, who also observed portions of the training. “This was truly a team effort, and the brigade’s outstanding performance is indicative of all the hard work and preparation its Soldiers and leaders put into it beforehand.”
Over the last five months, Escandon said he has maintained a high velocity training schedule for his Soldiers through various events like gunnery, live fires and deploying to Fort Bliss, Texas for the Network Integrated Evaluation for about a month where Strike conducted live fires, tested equipment for the Army and executed similar tasks from the FTX.
“Personally, I think [the Soldiers] understand why we are training to the level that we are training at, they understand the importance of going to JRTC to build our capability, but I also think they understand what’s going on in the world,” Escandon said. “What we’re preparing for is not what we’ve been dealing with the last 10 to 15 years. There are a lot of different adversaries out there that have a lot of capabilities, some of those capabilities are near-peer capabilities so I think most of our Soldiers, especially our leaders, understand the importance of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”
One hundred and eighty-seven thousand Soldiers, including more than 1,200 from the division, currently support combatant commanders in 140 countries.
“Just glance at the news and you can see that global security threats continue to increase and become more complex,” said Brennan. “That is why it is imperative we maintain our readiness as a division, as an Army and as a Nation.”
Escandon said he believes fully that his brigade is ready to fight tonight and ready now if needed.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the brigade,” he said. “Everything we have tackled or taken on, we’ve done to a very high standard and we’ve gotten the job done.”
Even with chilly temperatures, constant rain and a lot of mud, Escandon said as he looked around, Soldiers were getting after the mission, they were doing what they needed to do and maintaining a positive attitude about it all.
“Strike is preparing to be ready to go wherever the Army needs us to deploy, fight and win,” Escandon said. “I’m extremely proud of what the brigade has done over the last five months and I think we’re ready, now, to go and meet any adversary on any battlefield.”
| Date Taken: | 11.06.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 01.22.2018 16:57 |
| Story ID: | 262854 |
| Location: | FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 135 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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