Courtesy Photo | U.S. Army Pfc. Keith Tomazic, now a radio telephone operator, and Spc. Chase Craig, an...... read more read more
COMBAT OUTPOST KHILAGAY, Afghanistan - Soldiers with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, pitted their hearts and wits against their fellow comrades during the 24-hour Best Raider Competition here Sept. 8-9.
In June, two soldiers asked the unit's leaders to conduct a competition while deployed, which would sample events from the U.S. Army Best Ranger and Warrior competitions. Leaders accepted the request and planning and preparation for the event ensued.
A competition in a combat environment? Yes, and one entirely focused on skills necessary for success in combat operations.
"Though we are deployed, our jobs as leaders are to make every effort to keep soldiers' combat skills sharp. This is just a different training method to meet this end state," said Capt. Chad Maddox, an Arlington, Va., native, now the A Company commander.
Each team consisted of two soldiers with Raider Company, with ranks from private to a first lieutenant. The 18 competitors were not all infantrymen by trade, but also military policemen, mortarmen and mechanics.
The nine teams of soldiers huddled inside a maintenance bay in their physical fitness uniforms and placed their rucksacks and weapons in neat rows. After a motivational speech, the company commander introduced each team into the best time and score Raider competition.
The two-day challenge began at 6 p.m. with a mystery lane and concluded with the second portion of that event the following day.
Soldiers memorized small items on a table during the mystery event. The items consisted of a slinky, a subdued U.S. Army flag, a toy helicopter and a zip-tie to name a few. Maddox said this task tested the mental endurance of his soldiers after they completed 11 remaining physically and mentally demanding lanes.
The competitors launched straight into the U.S. Army's new physical readiness test, where they sprinted, leaped, performed push ups and other exercises.
Soldiers grabbed their equipment and changed into their combat uniforms, then donned their body armor and weapons to start a lane called Raider Stakes. The teams ate briefly from their allotted two meals, ready to eat to sustain their energy. Inside the compound, participants took components of M4 carbines, M240B machine guns, M9 pistols and four other weapons systems out of a brown box and began assembling one piece at a time. Teams performed functions checks on the weapons and operated tactical radio systems.
After completing Raider Stakes, the duos performed preventative maintenance checks on two mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles. From the top of the turrets, to the bottom of the vehicles' cabins, competitors inspected every portion of the all-terrain vehicles for deficiencies in 10 minutes or less. The team members examined two soldiers in full body armor with weapons, hoping to spot all deviations from the battalion's standards for wear of military equipment.
Meeting this task, the soldiers transitioned into day two of the competition.
The participants attached their night vision devices to their helmets and moved to the unit's weapons range to begin the night fire scenario. Competitors fired two rounds in paper targets in the standing, prone and supported firing positions in the moonlight. After the range, Soldiers carried their rucksacks eight miles around the stark landscape of the outpost.
By 7 a.m., soldiers began a medical evacuation lane with the help of the sun, which peeked over the horizon. Competitors grabbed a sled-like litter filled with one-gallon water jugs, properly attached harness straps and dragged the litter to a helicopter landing zone. The teams used radios and red smoke to communicate with aviators flying UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to pick up the mock casualties.
Competitors moved off the flight line to participate in an 11-part obstacle course. Soldiers climbed over high and low walls, hurdled barriers, flipped a giant tire and dragged a chain attached to heavy kettlebells.
The participants returned to the range for a day scenario. Only six teams made it to the range due to medical eliminations.
Teams completed a two-mile run around the outpost and entered the maintenance structure to hear who would walk away with the title "Best Raider.”
Spc. Chase Craig, an Okarche, Okla., native, now a team leader, and Pfc. Keith Tomazic, now a radio telephone operator, received the coveted title along with a box full of athletic gear, gift certificates and U.S. Army awards.
Though two soldiers won the competition, all competitors walked away knowing they accomplished a feat the average soldier hasn’t, said 2nd Lt. Vernon Wall, a Germantown, Md., native, now a platoon leader with the unit, who helped facilitate the competition.
The Best Raider Competition is the first 24-hour event for any battalion with the brigade during its deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
| Date Taken: | 09.09.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 09.15.2011 01:37 |
| Story ID: | 77051 |
| Location: | COMBAT OUTPOST KHILAGAY, AF |
| Web Views: | 363 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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