Photo By Spc. Amanda Solitario | Sgt. James Smith, a team leader with the QRF, provides cover as other members of his...... read more read more
LSA ANACONDA, Iraq—In the midst of an attack, reaction time is important. Life and death decisions must be made without hesitation. Anaconda's Quick Reaction Force carries out that challenge.
The team found themselves at Smith Range participating in a post-wide mass casualty exercise on Aug. 24, testing their response to a threat against Anaconda. While other servicemembers reacted to small arms fire aimed at a tower, indirect fire on the West Side Morale, Welfare, and Recreation center, and an exploding vehicle at the North Entry Control Point, the QRF countered an infiltration on the perimeter.
"We try to replicate what they might encounter if they actually had to respond to a breach of the wire or a ground attack of some type on the LSAA," said Maj. Eric Teegerstrom, the squadron executive officer for 1st Squadron, 167th Cavalry, a Nebraska National Guard unit. The QRF Soldiers were just about to eat lunch when a voice over the radio told them they had a mission, he said. A set of grid coordinates were the only clues to what was happening.
Teegerstrom said they are rarely given a lot of information before they move out. The unit usually has to plan as it goes. "They have to be able to think on their feet and react quickly to very serious changing situations," he said. From the time the initial call came in, until the time they arrived at the range, only 11 minutes had passed, he said. After the first team made it to the scene, range control officials answered the Soldiers unspoken questions by explaining the scenario. They told the Soldiers what they were experiencing was a battle drill, and they were going to conduct stress-fire training.
As the situation became clear to the teams, the puzzled expressions faded from their faces. The team split into two groups, one going to the right of the range, the other going to the left. With only a few shots fired down range, the team stood up and moved behind the firing line. They were then instructed to perform 10 elevated push-ups in full gear. After that, they ran about 15-in-one direction and back, only to start with push-ups again.
Once everyone completed their repetitions, they moved back to the firing line. The goal was to raise their heart rate and get the adrenaline flowing. Once the body was under stress, they were to work as a team in a live-fire situation, Teegerstrom said. The exercise resumed with teams shifting from one position to the next, shouting for cover as they moved. Green smoke moved across their line of sight making it difficult to engage the targets, and loud explosions echoed through the air muffling the squad leader's commands.
Soldiers quickly changed magazines as they expended rounds, and switched between rifles and handguns. At times, Soldiers fumbled in the chaos of the moment to fix weapon's malfunctions. "The key is to not let the pressure get to you, and to just do things the way you have been taught from day one," Pfc. Darryl Schroeder, a driver with the QRF, said afterward. The most important thing is to communicate ,no matter how stressful the situation, Teegerstrom said.
"The success that they have is going to be based almost entirely upon that communication," he said. The exercise was a good one for the QRF, said Capt. Robert West, force protection officer for the 35th Area Support Group. They were able to see their strengths and weakness in more than one area. "This was a good drill for them to look at their staging, call-up, and deployment around the base," West said.
At the end, each team conducted an after action review to discuss what went well and what they need to work on. "That was the whole point of the exercise," Teegerstrom said. "Not just to succeed, but to fail so you know where you need to train to improve." Base defense operations are vital to improving the security at Anaconda, he said. "These exercises all serve a real important purpose in preparation in case something more large scale did happen," he said.
West said the day was fast-paced and challenging for all those involved. The individuals who put the exercise together did their best to make it as real as possible by using events that have been seen in Iraq. "I hope each of the tenant units and everybody on the post takes their preparations seriously," Teegerstrom said. "This is still a pretty dangerous place to live and work."
| Date Taken: | 09.01.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 09.01.2006 10:07 |
| Story ID: | 7602 |
| Location: | BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 202 |
| Downloads: | 39 |
This work, Anaconda takes action during string of surprise attacks, by SPC Amanda Solitario, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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