Photo By Sgt. William Hill | Indiana National Guard Sgt. Brent Garrett, Bluffton, Ind., the troop intelligence...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — Blood-curdling screams pierced the air as soldiers yelled commands to one another while enemy small-arms fire echoed in the distance. A dominating boom rang out, dispersing the screaming crowd of people. Soldiers returned fire, thus eliminating the terrorist threat.
“Endex!” the training officer yells, and all action stops as the soldiers gather around to listen to how well they performed in the simulated mission.
Indiana National Guard soldiers with the 219th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade and reservists from the 373rd Military Intelligence Battalion collaborated while participating in several training exercises at Fort Lewis, Wash., in preparation for their joint deployment to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn.
Indiana National Guard 219th BFSB Commander Col. Ivan Denton said, the mobilization training plan here was exceptional, and each unit was validated on three major facets.
“First, each unit conducted mounted combat patrol situational training exercises that focused on both reacting to and defeating [improvised explosive devices] to include a key leader engagement in urban environment,” said Denton. “Second, each unit conducted a mounted combat patrol live fire exercise during daylight and night conditions. Third, each unit took part in our culminating training exercise (CTE), which lasted seven days.”
He said the CTE encompassed both live and virtual situational training exercises that stressed each unit, especially the brigade and the battalion command post while adding realism to our military intelligence and security missions.
Indiana National Guard Sgt. Brent Garrett, Alpha Troop 2-152 Cavalry Squadron, 219th BFSB said, the training he received was realistic, with genuine challenges his team had to conquer.
“We were able to train in an area that provided us with a realistic environment and native role players who added to the [authenticity],” One of the biggest hurdles was learning to work side by side with military intelligence soldiers, whose skill set is very different from ours as Cav Troopers, Garrett said.
“Comradery was key to mission success,” he said, “I briefed my guys from the onset to make friends with the reservists and the friction would be limited at best. We did and now we eat chow and spend free time with the other unit and it has helped us act as one team when we conduct missions.”
Reservist 1st Lt. Catherine Robinson, Tacoma Wash., the officer in charge of human resources for 373rd MIB said Soldiers from the 219th BFSB and 373rd MIB worked well together from the start.
“The 219th and 373rd meshed well from the start, commandeering a good working relationship,” said Robinson.
The 373rd MIB feels confident that the training here prepared them for their mission down range, she said. The training strengthened the bonds between the two groups and better prepared them for the mission as one team.
The 219th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade’s mission in support of Operation New Dawn is to observe and assist the Iraqi intelligence agencies with information gathering techniques, while supporting the drawdown effort in Iraq.
Col. Denton said the soldiers both guard and reserve completed the training with great success.
“Each unit exceeded the goal, and we obtained an impressive overall completion rate of 97 percent,” said Denton. “Based on our pre and post mobilization training plan and execution, the entire brigade is
ready to deploy to complete our historic Operation New Dawn mission.”
As the departure date draws near the soldiers of the 373rd MIB and 219th BFSB deploy together as one team, wearing the same patch, united by the training and eager to begin a new chapter in history.
| Date Taken: | 05.04.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.04.2011 21:08 |
| Story ID: | 69852 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 236 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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