It’s hard to believe it’s been over a month since I last sat down to write. So much has happened, but the time has flown by. The majority of the last month was spent at National Training Center (NTC), Ft. Irwin, California. NTC is one of the most cutting edge training centers the United States military has to offer. The support, training, and experiences we received will undoubtedly increase our preparedness for the current deployment, as well as shape many of our military careers.
We moved from Camp Shelby to NTC by bus and airline. The trip was smooth, with the typical waiting that we’ve all became accustomed to in the process of moving 3,000+ soldiers and equipment. Our first week, we stayed at Life Sustainment Area (LSA) Warrior. Time was spent drawing vehicles and all the equipment to put on them. We received training on new equipment to include TALON robots used for clearing explosives safely, Phase-a-lators that help translate English phrases into other languages, and a directional speaker that can be heard miles away. We also prepped all of our individual equipment for the rough two weeks to follow.
Week two started with a move to Forward Operating Base (FOB) Denver, and then Combat Out-Post (COP) Rome, where we spent the majority of our time. COP Rome was in the center of a model Afghan village, Shar-e Tiefort. We spent all of our time preparing for and conducting Situational Training Exercise (STX) lanes. These lanes put us into very difficult situations that tested leadership and soldiers alike. One of the days, I was told to take 16 soldiers to a special range, and the day ended up being one of the most memorable days to this point in the career. I got to lead a group of my soldiers on a Close Combat Aviation training range. We got to coordinate airstrikes with OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters. Every soldier got a chance to talk directly to a pilot on our radios, then we would either “mark” targets with tracer rounds from our machine guns, or “sparkle” them with infra-red lasers. The Kiowas would then perform a strafe run engaging our targets with .50 caliber machine guns and 2.75” Hydra rockets. This basically satisfied all of our boyhood urges to point a flashlight at something and watch it explode. If your soldier is one of the soldiers that got to experience this training, I’m sure they can fill you in on some of the other details of the day.
Week three was our Full Spectrum Operations (FSO) week. Our town of Tiefort was full of role-players, many who were from regions of the middle-east that we will be going to. We engaged in meetings with Village Elders, police chiefs, merchants in town and so on. We conducted patrols with Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army soldiers. The incredible part of this phase of the training was that everything we did had an effect. When we did a humanitarian food drive, the villagers responded positively and were helpful. When we did things that weren’t so good, the villagers sided with the insurgents and things didn’t go so well. We determined our own destiny, and by the end of the week, we were really getting a good idea of how to conduct business. This was a huge week for our platoon, the company and higher. It gave us all a “dry-run” to combat. NTC created the most realistic environment to war that you could encounter without actually getting shot at with real bullets. The living conditions were not ideal, 25 soldiers packed in a small tent. Showers and running water, non-existent. Food, some Army chow and an MRE or two a day. Despite the living conditions, I still vote that this was some of the best training I’ve seen in the 8 years I’ve been in the Army.
The last week at NTC was a long one for everyone. The bulk of the time was spent cleaning all the equipment to turn in. When that was completed, time was spent working out, climbing the foothills near our base, and playing cards.
Now that we have returned to Mississippi, the land of real mattresses and good showers, we are all looking forward to our four-day pass. The pass has been earned and well deserved for all our soldiers. We have a lot to prepare for other than pass as well. We will continue training and preparing for our time in Afghanistan. We will train on the lessons learned from NTC and continue with our tough regime of physical and mental training. With everything that we have done, and everything that is coming in the future, I am more proud than ever to be the platoon leader for 2nd Platoon, our as we call ourselves, “The Reaper Crew”.
We moved from Camp Shelby to NTC by bus and airline. The trip was smooth, with the typical waiting that we’ve all became accustomed to in the process of moving 3,000+ soldiers and equipment. Our first week, we stayed at Life Sustainment Area (LSA) Warrior. Time was spent drawing vehicles and all the equipment to put on them. We received training on new equipment to include TALON robots used for clearing explosives safely, Phase-a-lators that help translate English phrases into other languages, and a directional speaker that can be heard miles away. We also prepped all of our individual equipment for the rough two weeks to follow.
Week two started with a move to Forward Operating Base (FOB) Denver, and then Combat Out-Post (COP) Rome, where we spent the majority of our time. COP Rome was in the center of a model Afghan village, Shar-e Tiefort. We spent all of our time preparing for and conducting Situational Training Exercise (STX) lanes. These lanes put us into very difficult situations that tested leadership and soldiers alike. One of the days, I was told to take 16 soldiers to a special range, and the day ended up being one of the most memorable days to this point in the career. I got to lead a group of my soldiers on a Close Combat Aviation training range. We got to coordinate airstrikes with OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters. Every soldier got a chance to talk directly to a pilot on our radios, then we would either “mark” targets with tracer rounds from our machine guns, or “sparkle” them with infra-red lasers. The Kiowas would then perform a strafe run engaging our targets with .50 caliber machine guns and 2.75” Hydra rockets. This basically satisfied all of our boyhood urges to point a flashlight at something and watch it explode. If your soldier is one of the soldiers that got to experience this training, I’m sure they can fill you in on some of the other details of the day.
Week three was our Full Spectrum Operations (FSO) week. Our town of Tiefort was full of role-players, many who were from regions of the middle-east that we will be going to. We engaged in meetings with Village Elders, police chiefs, merchants in town and so on. We conducted patrols with Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army soldiers. The incredible part of this phase of the training was that everything we did had an effect. When we did a humanitarian food drive, the villagers responded positively and were helpful. When we did things that weren’t so good, the villagers sided with the insurgents and things didn’t go so well. We determined our own destiny, and by the end of the week, we were really getting a good idea of how to conduct business. This was a huge week for our platoon, the company and higher. It gave us all a “dry-run” to combat. NTC created the most realistic environment to war that you could encounter without actually getting shot at with real bullets. The living conditions were not ideal, 25 soldiers packed in a small tent. Showers and running water, non-existent. Food, some Army chow and an MRE or two a day. Despite the living conditions, I still vote that this was some of the best training I’ve seen in the 8 years I’ve been in the Army.
The last week at NTC was a long one for everyone. The bulk of the time was spent cleaning all the equipment to turn in. When that was completed, time was spent working out, climbing the foothills near our base, and playing cards.
Now that we have returned to Mississippi, the land of real mattresses and good showers, we are all looking forward to our four-day pass. The pass has been earned and well deserved for all our soldiers. We have a lot to prepare for other than pass as well. We will continue training and preparing for our time in Afghanistan. We will train on the lessons learned from NTC and continue with our tough regime of physical and mental training. With everything that we have done, and everything that is coming in the future, I am more proud than ever to be the platoon leader for 2nd Platoon, our as we call ourselves, “The Reaper Crew”.
