Photo By Sgt. Richard Daniels Jr. | Soldiers of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st...... read more read more
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FORT POLK, La -- Soldiers of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division conducted a mounted, dismounted patrol in the early morning in a simulated Afghan enemy environment to aid villagers Jan. 15 at Fort Polk, La.
Bastogne Soldiers tasked to the Personal Security Detachment trained in their first Situational Training Exercise at the Joint Readiness Training Center honing their skills as they near a deployment to Afghanistan.
The scenarios the Soldiers encountered during the mission awakened them to the reality of war. As the attacks hit them from every direction, these Warriors gathered their wits and summoned unparalleled bravery to aid their comrades and villagers against simulated insurgence and battle wounds to accomplish their mission.
For one Soldier, this training took him down memory lane.
"It brings back a lot of memories from previous deployments," said Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Easton, PSD platoon sergeant. "It was a little bit more than what we would probably normally see [in country] but it was a good look at the best way to train in a worst case scenario, so they hit us pretty good in a few spots," he said.
The circumstances allowed the Soldiers to realize the one key ingredient needed to survive any situation.
"It's all about training and trying to work together as a team," said Easton.
The extraordinary predicaments the "Bastogne Warriors" found themselves in allowed the leadership to determine the strengths and weaknesses of each Soldier.
"This is the first chance we really had to train so it woke a few of them up to the realism," said Easton. "It showed me the ones that had experience and for the younger guys it was a quick lesson on what battle would be like," he said.
As explosions and gunfire engulfed the Soldiers, one Soldier learned that immediate action must be taken.
"I just reacted to whatever came up at the moment," said Spc. Aaron Fedukuvich.
Fedukuvich was one of many Soldiers who stepped up to the plate and helped pull the team through challenging situations.
The event helped determine what types of training the Warriors needed in order to polish their skills.
The experienced Soldiers are passing their skills down to the younger Soldier and the lessons learned at JRTC will be incorporated into the training when they return to Fort Campbell, said Easton.
What Soldiers learn at JRTC increases their survivability in Afghanistan but in reality it's up to each Soldier to use what they've learned and adjust it according to each situation.
"I think that JRTC is great for all Soldiers that have and have not deployed previously. I look forward to doing my job with the PSD," said Fedukuvich.
| Date Taken: | 01.15.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 01.24.2010 00:10 |
| Story ID: | 44352 |
| Location: | FORT POLK, LA, US |
| Web Views: | 294 |
| Downloads: | 231 |
This work, Bastogne Warriors Battle Through Scenarios, by SGT Richard Daniels Jr., identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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