Photo By Master Sgt. John Laughter | During the deployment readiness exercise Vigilant Warrior, Pvt. Zachary Coburn, scout,...... read more read more
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Imagine being in a deep sleep on any given night, when you're jolted awake by the shrill ring of your phone. As soon as you groggily pick up the receiver, you hear your boss on the other end, excitedly saying you have less than two hours to have all your clothing and gear packed in order to spend a year in some desolate, war-torn country on the other side of the globe. As you race to throw your bags in your car, you might have the opportunity to say a hasty good-bye to your spouse and kids.
The majority of America's work-force will never receive this call and never go to bed wondering if the phone will ring sending them thousands of miles away. But, even if they did, could the average person pack everything they might need for an entire year and drive the daily commute in less than two hours?
For the Paratroopers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team and the Nation's Global Response Force this is exactly what they train and prepare for. When the President volunteered to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to the earthquake ravaged country of Haiti, the 2BCT "Falcons" received the call and were ready to deploy to Haiti within four hours.
But the ability to be world-wide deployable in a few short hours is a skill that must be continually honed and tested. In order to assess the abilities of the Falcon Paratroopers to meet such requirement the 2BCT command has recently reinstituted an exercise dubbed Vigilant Warrior. "This is the first time we've executed an event of this type, stated Lt. Col. Timothy Kehoe, deputy commanding officer, 2BCT. "We are testing our readiness to respond rapidly as part of the GRF."
At 2 a.m. A Troop, 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, was alerted to assemble in a mock short-notice deployment exercise. With most of their equipment already packed and stored in lockers at the troop headquarters, the Paratroopers and 1-73 Cav. leaders began to plan for a grueling day of inspections, readiness tests, rifle qualification, foot march, physical training tests, and airborne equipment rigging.
"The exercise replicates a real world, no-notice deployment," said Lt. Josh Jeleniowski, fire support officer, A Troop, "we have to make sure everything, from physical security, equipment, paperwork, to soldier's physical fitness is squared away and prepared."
Upon receiving the alert, the Squadron's leadership had to plan to conduct all the events simultaneously utilizing one troop. A Troop was chosen since it was currently on rotation as the Quick Reaction Force. As the QRF, A Troop would be the very first element from the 2BCT to deploy and would therefore have the shortest amount of time to prepare.
As the separate platoons of A Troop spread out through the brightening Fort Bragg morning to conduct their various missions, there was no confusion or wasted effort. Paratroopers at all levels were able to efficiently execute the exercise's tasks and use the knowledge gained for future operations.
As a planning and implementation for the leadership, the exercise was also an opportunity for young Paratroopers, new to the fast-paced operational tempo of the 82nd, Abn. Div. to practice packing their individual and squad equipment for airborne operation bound for destinations unknown.
Pvt. Nicholas Turner, a forward observer with A Troop said that the exercise built his skills to move and pack faster, which gave him the time and ability to pay close attention to what was going on and orders that were being given out.
With a no-notice deployment always a possibility for the Airborne paratrooper, it is exercises such as this, aimed at readiness, which enable the 2BCT to act quickly and effectively as the Global Response Force, said Kehoe.
"Readiness," said Kehoe, "is the key. We never know when we will get the call."
| Date Taken: | 06.02.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 06.02.2010 16:14 |
| Story ID: | 50734 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 318 |
| Downloads: | 181 |
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