Photo By David Poe | Soldiers practice Close Quarters Battle tactics on the Fort Bliss Training Complex in...... read more read more
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“I came to get down, I came to get down. So get off your feet and jump around …”
(House of Pain)
Surrounded by high fences at Fort Bliss, classic hip hop by the group House of Pain blasts from the speakers inside a shoot house. The structure resembles a human-sized maze where Soldiers, not mice, navigate to find their objective, not cheese.
Nearby, Soldiers mill around in the gravel parking lot, planning their assaults, affixing their gear, and loading their weapons with non-lethal training rounds. These rounds mimic a bullet’s trajectory, but instead of piercing, they ping and ricochet off targets.
Away from the pings and pops, senior Soldiers mentor junior troops in the parking lot, offering up hard-won experience as junior troops listen intently and ask questions.
Practicing tactics and Close Quarters Battle, or CQB, might be nothing new for some of the more than 70,000 troops who train on the complex annually, but with the music and the stacks of pizza in the parking lot — only for those who complete the course — this training event was different. The Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS) program at Fort Bliss held their second Special Operations Week, Feb. 24-28.
Over the weeklong event, thanks to help from the U.S. Army Special Operations Recruiting Battalion at Bliss, Army explosive ordnance disposal technicians from the 734th Ordnance Company, and Air Force tactical air control party specialists from the Bliss-based 7th Air Support Operations Squadron, BOSS troops interested in the military’s Special Operations community were challenged with an array of individual and team exercises, rooted in special operations doctrine.
BOSS is a Sergeant Major of the Army-endorsed Soldier quality of life program that connects single Soldiers and married Soldiers, who are away from their families for an extended period of time, with opportunities such as volunteering, leisure activities, and, in this case, career-building training and networking.
The weeklong event, the second of its kind at Bliss, took on the new name of “Special Operations Week,” instead of "Special Forces Week," as it was called last fall. The change reflects the inclusion of units like the 734th EOD and 7th ASOS.
“We divided the Soldiers, some of whom are in Combat Arms and some in support roles, into two teams,” said a Bliss Special Operations Recruiting Battalion Soldier who helped organize and lead the week for interested troops. “We built upon some CQB (Close Quarters Battle) training and threw in some medical training as well. The goal was to get them trained up to take on an FTX at the end of the week, to involve them in clearing rooms, and to rescue a hostage.”
Spc. Peggy Sally, a 214th Surgical Detachment practical nursing specialist and a BOSS Soldier, attended the weeklong training with the hopes of professional development and “seeing what I’m made of.” With more than half of the BOSS troops getting a chance to train on Army Close Quarter Battle, or CQB, during the week for the first time, she wasn’t alone.
“I have to say, the first time I’d seen the Special Operations recruiting station on base, I wondered ‘What is the extra that they are doing?'” said Sally, who shared she’s especially interested in the Psychological Operations field. “I saw that they have different specialties, be it Civil Affairs or ‘PsyOps.’ I’ve heard the terms thrown around, but when I did my research online, it seemed kind of interesting. I always like a job that will challenge me mentally and physically.”
Cpl. Marasia “Mo” Olang, a combat medic currently serving with U.S. Army Garrison Fort Bliss, and the current Bliss BOSS president, said although BOSS troops came up with the idea for Special Forces Week last year, it’s been the special operations troops themselves that have come through with support to see it through during both weeks.
“They really put the rest of it together with the ranges, with the port-a-johns, with the MREs (pre-packed meals), everything,” she said. “Not only did we build lethality within the formation, but also we’ve built a lot of morale. [BOSS Soldiers] are doing things they maybe don’t normally do, or maybe even have never done before. They’re now able to work on one-man and two-man teams, clearing rooms, and working on casualties as well. A lot of [Soldiers] say they want to do ‘bad ass’ stuff and then all of the sudden, they’re sitting in a Central Operations Facility all day.
“A Soldier — especially if they’re new — being able to do a training like this builds confidence not only within themselves, but the units will also have more confidence in them. They’re going to be able to say they did the things that they maybe even joined for,” she said. “I love that Soldiers really loved the event in total. I know it was a lot of work for [the trainers] and it was a lot of work for us, too — it was worth it.”
For more information on careers in the Army Special Operations community, visit www.goarmy.com and www.soc.mil.
To learn more about the BOSS program at Bliss, visit www.bliss.armymwr.com/programs/boss-better-opportunities-single-soldiers
| Date Taken: | 02.28.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.11.2025 16:41 |
| Story ID: | 492543 |
| Location: | EL PASO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 130 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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