Bronco Rumble takes Schofield by storm

Photo By Cashmere He | Col. Brian S. Eifler, commander of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, watches soldiers of the 2nd Battalion 27th Infantry Regiment clear a building during Bronco Rumble May 8 at Area X. Bronco Rumble is a combined arms live-fire exercise conducted May 1-14 that puts soldiers to the test, while stressing the importance of communication and leader development. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Cashmere Jefferson, 3rd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office)  

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HI, UNITED STATES

05.15.2013

Story by Staff Sgt. Cashmere He 

3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii - For two weeks, you could hear them training, and depending on where you lived, your house may have been shaking.

With the noise and fury came the assurance that the soldiers of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division are ready for whatever the Army's call will bring.

“Bronco Rumble,” a company level, combined arms live-fire exercise conducted to develop leaders and service members with critical thinking and tactical skills, took place May 1-14.

“This training was tough, intense and demanding, but our soldiers got after it,” said Command Sgt. Maj. David Clark, senior enlisted leader, 3rd BCT, 25th ID.

Clark stressed the importance of physical fitness as soldiers moved more than 1,500 meters through the wood line, bounding down and up the gulch to reach their objective while carrying more than 60 pounds of weight.

Bronco Brigade soldiers endured some of Hawaii’s hottest and rainiest weather conditions, while training through blank and live-fire iterations, both day and night. The Bronco Brigade proved why there is “None Better.”

“The exercise is a culmination of the last six months of training,” said Col. Brian Eifler, commander, 3rd BCT, 25th ID. “We started at individual, to squad level training, to platoon level training, to a company level live fire where a company commander has maneuver his unit to take an objective.”

The success of the mission relied heavily on how soldiers could shoot, move and communicate effectively through the terrain. The training was not just about the infantry, but combined the artillery, cavalry, mortars, aviation, engineers, medics and many more elements as they deliberately attacked a simulated enemy compound.

The Broncos hosted leaders from the Pacific Command, 15th Airlift Wing, U.S. Army-Pacific, 25th ID and officers from the Vietnam People’s Army, to name a few, to observe while they showcased the very best that any infantry brigade in the Pacific has to offer.

“This is their Super Bowl,” said Eifler. “Bronco Rumble brings that extra factor of combat simulation to really put our soldiers to the test, but everything they’ve trained for has prepared them for this.”

Bronco Rumble will increase future interoperability with America’s Pacific partners while sustaining combat readiness, enabling the brigade to answer the Army’s call whenever and wherever it is.

• Date Taken: 05.15.2013
• Date Posted: 05.15.2013 21:16
• Story ID: 106972
• Location: SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HI, US