Photo By Staff Sgt. Lacy Brown | Arkansas National Guardsman Sgt. Sean R. Walters dominates Spc. John E. Callahan of...... read more read more
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CARVILLE, La. – I will place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade.
The Warrior Ethos instilled in Louisiana Army National Guard Soldiers throughout Basic Combat Training and is a set of principles that every Soldier implements in both their personal and professional lives.
This ethos was apparent during the Modern Army Combatives Course at Camp Cook in Ball, La., where Soldiers from across Louisiana and Arkansas participated in a course that is fairly new to Louisiana. The combatives course was first introduced to the state in August and continues to be implemented in Guard training.
The grueling concepts and techniques of Army combatives are pulled from many types of fighting techniques from around the world.
"The program begins with the ground grappling of modern Ju-Jitsu, progresses through the throws and take-downs from wrestling judo, advances through the stand-up fighting skills of boxing and Muay Thai; and incorporates the weapons-fighting skills of Kali in the western martial arts," said Sgt. 1st Class Timothy W. Pearson, assistant instructor and course manager with the 199th Leadership Regiment at Camp Cook.
"When combined with scenario-based training, a strong program is built to incorporate hand-to-hand combat at the smallest unit level," he added.
"The purpose of this course is to train the trainer and uses the Warrior Ethos as the defining characteristic to enhance the warrior's willingness to close with the enemy, no matter what skill sets they may have.
"If they are not willing to go through the door with you when it's time, they are not really a warrior, and that's what hand-to-hand training is all about," Pearson, a native of Pineville, La., stressed.
The main goal of the five-day course is to build an instructor base at the unit level so participants can train other Soldiers.
"It doesn't matter what job you have in the National Guard," said Staff Sgt. Richard G. White, of Alexandria, La. "You don't have to be infantry or combat arms. Our goal is to have a Level I instructor in each platoon and one Level II Instructor in each company in the National Guard," the course's head instructor explained.
1st Lt. Nick S. Acosta of Thibodaux, La., and company commander of C Company, 2nd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, knows the importance of incorporating basic combative skills into his daily unit mission, as he works full time for the Pre-mobilization Training Assistant Element at the Gillis W. Long Center in Carville, La.
The PTAE is responsible for validating warrior tasks and battle drills to units prior to deployment.
"This training helps me see what 'right' looks like," said Acosta, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. "When we are all trained to the same standard, it makes it easier to properly teach combatives to units that are preparing to deploy overseas."
Soldiers received blows during the physically-challenging sessions. There were many bruises and abrasions, but there was an overall sense of self-accomplishment at the end of the training.
"My body is sore, but this is great training to bring back to the unit," said Spc. John E. Callahan of the 415th Military Intelligence Battalion from Carville, La.
"This is one of the more challenging military schools I've been to, both physically and mentally," said Acosta. "Anyone interested in this course should come well prepared and be physically fit, flexible and possess strong endurance levels."
Aggression, motivation and endurance are all elements that are focused on during this course. "Soldiers are not going to win the next war because they are better hand-to-hand fighters physically. They are going to win the next war because they have the discipline to be the better hand-to-hand fighter," Pearson concluded.
| Date Taken: | 03.03.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 03.03.2009 18:22 |
| Story ID: | 30704 |
| Location: | CARVILLE, US |
| Web Views: | 519 |
| Downloads: | 387 |
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