Photo By Staff Sgt. James Hunter | Staff Sgt. Jamie McKeithan and Spc. Travis Wilds, with 1st Platoon, Company A, 2nd...... read more read more
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FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Historically, in today's combat operations, engineers are used to conduct route clearance missions to remove enemy explosives and ordnance from the roadways.
However, engineers with Company A, 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), are training for the possibility of maneuvering as a dismounted element while deployed to Afghanistan early this summer.
To better prepare themselves for this type of mission, the engineers conducted squad-level maneuver training during a live-fire exercise, Feb. 2-5.
"The purpose of this training is to prepare my Soldiers to fight as a squad and to build confidence and ensure competence in their ability to maneuver through wooded and open terrain while engaging the enemy," said 2nd Lt. John Ritchie, the platoon leader for 1st Platoon. "It ensures that the leadership can control the fires and that the Soldiers can place them accurately."
During the live-fire scenario, the squads were faced with moving to contact and eliminating the threat on the objective. However, before getting to that point, there was much planning involved.
"The leaders had to formulate a plan, given limited intel, and execute it with blank rounds and then live," said Ritchie. "They were faced with tactical problems that every combat Soldier should be prepared for — crossing open spaces, reacting to indirect fire and reacting to an ambush."
The intelligence given was limited indeed. All they were told were there might be two-three enemy personnel on the objective. Things soon changed, as they found themselves bounding and setting up support-by-fire positions to eliminate a serious threat as they pushed to clear the objective.
This was an opportunity for team leaders within the squad to really grow as leaders and gain confidence in their abilities and that of their Soldiers.
"A lot of team leaders who don't have a lot of experience are getting that team leader experience to make decisions on their own without me telling them when to move, how to move and directing their Soldiers," said Staff Sgt. Jamie McKeithan, a squad leader with 1st Platoon.
One thing that an exercise such as this really does for leaders is build their confidence, said McKeithan.
"It builds their confidence — confident that they can maneuver as two separate teams onto an objective and destroy the enemy and secure the area," he said. "They feel that they can accomplish the mission."
For Sgt. Justin Roesch, a team leader with 1st Platoon, this was an experience that will go a long way toward developing a very combat effective team.
"I learned that as long as I am voice full and confident in my decisions, they're going to follow me and know exactly what to do as long as I give them precise instructions," said Roesch. "I learned that my confidence level directly reflects their confidence level."
While laying down suppressive fire, defeating enemy combatants and searching those individuals for weapons and items of intelligence value, they learned how to effectively move to contact as a squad.
"As the platoon leader for first platoon ... I have huge expectations for my platoon," said Ritchie. "They are required to move with decisive speed with live ammunition and destroy the enemy, all the while displaying such control of their teams as to leave no doubt in my mind as to the safety of the Soldiers to their right and left.
"This is not an easy task, by any means, but my platoon will accomplish it," Ritchie said.
| Date Taken: | 02.05.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 02.11.2010 00:13 |
| Story ID: | 45200 |
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| Web Views: | 227 |
| Downloads: | 140 |
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