Photo By Sgt. Maj. Alejandro Licea | British Capt. Sean Cronin, The Queen's Lancashire Regiment, speaks to his battle...... read more read more
Story and photos by U.S. Army Sgt. Alex Licea
Combined Joint Task Force-Bright Star/Third U.S Army Public Affairs Office
Mubarak Military City, Egypt (Sept .30, 2005) - "Attention in the main command post. Attention in the main command post."
For members of the Combined Joint Task Force, 11 coalition countries, this was the common phrase heard over the loud speaker as they took part in Bright Star's Command Post Exercise, or CPX, here Sept. 29 through Oct. 2.
The exercise was the final event of Bright Star 2005 as coalition partners participated in the computer-assisted exercise that simulated wartime scenarios testing each country's ability to handle situations that could occur on a real battlefield.
U.S. Maj. Brad Lord, CPX battle captain assigned to Third U.S. Army, Fort McPherson, Ga., spoke about the event and the build up to the Bright Star exercise.
"I guess I would call this the Super Bowl of the CPX exercises," said Lord. "This is what we have been training for over the past year."
"Over the past year, we have had similar build-up exercises in such places as Kuwait, Qatar and Atlanta; but this one is different because we are working with other nations," he added.
Throughout the exercise, senior military leaders, including U.S. Army Lt. Gen. R. Steven Whitcomb, commander of the Combined Joint Task Force/Third U.S. Army and Egyptian Maj. Gen. Ahamd Moukhtar, Egyptian training authority commander and co-exercise director, evaluated the proficiency of the CJTF battle staff based on how well the coalition members employed their battle drills. Battle drills are predetermined procedures used to handle specific situations that may occur in wartime scenarios such as downed aircraft or insurgent activities.
"This CPX gave all troops a sense of how a headquarters unit would work during combat operations," said Lord. "It gave us a real feel of how a headquarters would run a war."
Prior to the exercise, coalition leaders held several pre-planning conferences called Combined Arms Rehearsals or "CAR DRILLS," in order to evaluate the CJTF's step-by-step evaluation to the "road to war."
CJTF's goal was to deter Orangeland's aggression as well as combat insurgency after their invasion of Greenland, two made-up countries used during the simulation war exercise, and to simultaneuosly conduct humanitarian missions like natural disaster relief and deal with displaced civilians on the battlefield.
Through countless hours of work inside the CJTF headquarters, known as KSPAN 1 & 2, and in the Early Entry Command Post, coalition members worked together to achieve their goal in restoring control over the region and bringing regional stability back to the country of Greenland.
"The overall exercise has required connotative awareness by all the coalition," said Lord.
The exercise concluded with an after action review. Senior leaders from all of the involved nations discussed the lessons learned in order to determine where improvements need to be made for the next Bright Star exercise.
"Overall this has been a great exercise," Lord said, "Despite some language barriers between the nations, we were able to execute the mission and succeed."
According to Lord, train-up events between Third U.S. Army and U.S. Central Command will begin sometime next year in order to prepare for the next Bright Star scheduled to occur in 2007 in Egypt.
| Date Taken: | 10.04.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 10.04.2005 16:31 |
| Story ID: | 3189 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 440 |
| Downloads: | 163 |
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