Photo By Staff Sgt. Tristin Maximilian | A combat medic directs Shawn Williams, a squad leader, assigned to the 46th Military...... read more read more
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It has been 10 days since the 46th Military Police Company has landed in Poland, living off of the environment, dealing with frigid nights, blistering days, and lack of sleep. The members of this unit remain strong and motivated to complete mission-based training during exercise Saber Strike. First Squad, 2nd Platoon of the
46th MP CO completed a quick reaction force mission the night before, and members of this squad were running on roughly about two hours of sleep.
Their next mission task was a route recon. Staff Sgt. Shawn Williams, a squad leader, assigned to the 46th MP Company, lead the recon mission, as it was time for his squad to be evaluated.
“It’s always good to get the troops out there, we got a lot of brand new soldiers, so it’s a good experience for them and it’s good experience for us training these soldiers,” said Williams. “I have two corporals who are learning their role as a team leader, its great experience for them because they are newer at that position.”
During the unit’s down time Williams would provide additional training to his squad on things such as weapons and other tools that would be useful out in the field, especially when it came to their mission. All missions aren’t perfect, and there are challenges along the way.
“The main challenge was when our comms went down and when our DAGR [Defense Advance GPS Receiver] stopped functioning properly,” said Pvt. 1st Class, Joshua West, a gunner, assigned to the 46th MP CO.
The unit had to improvise quickly by shouting commands and rerouting in order to continue their mission. This simulated what could happen in the real world when equipment malfunctions while on a mission.
As a part of the scenario members of the unit had to respond to injured comrades while under fire from the opposition.
“We had a wounded casualty. We pulled him out [of the vehicle], [and] assessed him for other injuries and was able to stabilize him and put him back in to the vehicle,” said Cpl. Oliver Fiala, a team leader, assigned to the 46th MP CO.
During this simulation the soldiers remained vigilant in their task and drills, despite roughly having two hours of sleep.
“You know adrenaline is a great thing. You may be tired but once things kick, exhaustion is the last thing you have to worry about,” said Williams “ Being here instead of Grayling, where everyone knows where everything is, helps us avoid complacency.”
“Overall I think the mission went pretty well, there is a lot of fine tuning we can do,” said Williams “If you don’t fail you’re not trying, if you’re not trying you’re never going to learn anything.”
There will be more intense training with the 46th MP CO as the exercise continues. The company maintains unit cohesion and high morale throughout Saber Strike 18, which adds to the goal of promoting interoperability between U.S. forces, allies, and partners in the Baltic region.
| Date Taken: | 06.07.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2018 04:52 |
| Story ID: | 279918 |
| Location: | KONOTOP, PL |
| Web Views: | 280 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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