Photo By Malcolm McClendon | Pfc. Michael Shaw and Sergeant of the Guard, Sgt. Paul Titley, from the 712th Military...... read more read more
CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. – For two teams the road to Super Bowl XLVI has required them to put forth their best effort, to challenge themselves both physically and mentally. In Indiana, these teams will finally have the opportunity to put all that training and hard work to the test.
Not far from where these championship teams are preparing for the big day, Texas National Guardsmen put on their game face for the final evaluation before they head to the Horn of Africa for their deployment.
The men and women of Task Force Raptor (3-124 CAV) started the three-day, 24-hour ops of the combined training exercise portion of their mobilization evaluation at Camp Atterbury, Ind. The event was the culmination of their time there and put to test all of what the unit has been training and preparing for.
The entire task force was “in-play” manning entry control points, escorting VIPs from mock U.S. Embassies, and reacting to a myriad of scenarios. Anything from a missing soldier to stolen weapons was thrown at the Guardsmen.
Guarding the flight line, soldiers from the 702nd Military Police Company put their skills to the test, restricting access to the base’s airfield and reacting to threats. While this might be a routine day for the experienced MPs of the 702nd, this training proved to be very valuable to Pfc. Brandon McKelroy.
“I’ve been learning a lot being out here. Things like how to better search people, sharpen my observation skills and even how to communicate properly on the radio when calling up situations or requesting help,” said McKelroy.
McKelroy attributes the success his team has had during the evaluation process to his senior soldiers and mentors. Soldiers like Staff Sgt. Kyle Elder, who take advantage of training scenarios like these to teach soldiers.
“This training is very effective for the younger soldiers and lets them know what to expect down range. This is good for a lot of them that haven’t deployed. It’s better to find out what our younger soldiers, and even the experienced ones, need training on, so we can correct it here versus out in theater,” explained Elder.
Sergeant of the Guard, Sgt. Paul Titley, from the 712th Military Police Company, has been a Military Policeman for over 13 years and shares that there is always something new to learn.
“You can never know too much. The other day during a simple ID check at the gate, one of my guys noticed the individual had one shoe tied tight and the other loosely tied. Little things like that can be a hint for something else,” said Titley.
The cold Indiana weather added its own training value to the equation for Titley.
“When you’re doing personnel searches up here in this cold weather, you have to take into consideration that people are going to be wearing more layers, gloves, hats, and scarves; all things that need to be considered and taken into account,” added Titley. “Also, as SOGs, we need to look after our soldiers on patrol and manning the gate. I bring them coffee and warm liquids and just make sure their general welfare is good.”
For the men and women braving the cold and making sure the base and flight lines are safe, there are soldiers in the “rear” taking care of them. Admin soldiers like Sgt. Amanda Riley of the 702nd MP Company were also tested during the CTE.
“We received a call from our battle captain. He told us that one of our soldiers received a Red Cross message. We immediately started the packet and notified the commander, so that he may inform the soldier. Next, we started preparing the leave request, then we had to draft memos, get the risk assessments done and make sure everybody in the chain of command, as well as the chaplain, is notified.”
Riley takes pride in what she does and works hard for her fellow Guardsmen that are out there working the ECPs.
“I want them to know that their S1 [personnel office] is taking care of them the best we can, so that they can do their job out there and not worry about pay or other administrative issues. And these training scenarios have only given me more confidence in doing that.” Riley added.
When the evaluators of the CTE called, “end ex,” the hard work of the 702nd and the 712th, along with that of the entire task force paid off as they were given the symbolic “arms up” used in football for touchdown.
Once the soldiers conducted the after action report, Task Force Raptor Commander, Lt. Col. Tom Hooker, took the time to recognize the men and women for their hard work getting here and reminded them that it is game time.
| Date Taken: | 01.29.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.07.2012 20:46 |
| Story ID: | 83492 |
| Location: | CAMP ATTERBURY, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 442 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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