Photo By Capt. Eric-James Estrada | U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Shane Pospisil, the senior enlisted adviser for 1st...... read more read more
Subscribe
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska- Paratroopers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, demonstrated their commitment and fortitude, earning the Pathfinder badge here, May 31, 2013.
JBER's most recent graduates of the Army Pathfinder School know what it means to be both the best and brightest. After a three-week course run by a Mobile Training Team, or MTT, from Fort Benning, Ga., 26 out of 68 Spartan paratroopers who began the training can now call themselves Pathfinders.
Composed of less than 1 percent of the total Army, the modern Pathfinder is a specialized airborne leader. Pathfinders set up parachute drop zones and helicopter landing zones for airborne and air assault missions in hostile locations.
“It was a tough course. It was a fire hose full of information,” said, San Antonio native U.S. Army 1st Lt. Kedrick Palmer of 725th Brigade Support Battalion (Airborne), 4-25 ABCT.
Palmer added that the most challenging phase he faced was the classroom instruction on drop zones.
“There was a lot of information and not a whole lot of time to retain it,” said Palmer.
U.S. Army Pathfinders originated during World War II, establishing and operating landing and drop zones. They were the first American soldiers on the ground on D-Day in 1944, and despite evolutions in doctrine and tactics, continue to lead the way in airborne operations today.
Students in the Pathfinder course went through rigorous training and testing in areas such as learning to navigate cross country on foot to establish and operate day and night helicopter landing zones and parachute drop zones, rig and inspect sling loads and provide air traffic control and navigational assistance to aircraft, amongst other tasks.
The honor graduate for the Pathfinder course, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Larry Forrest, Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry, 4-25 ABCT, hailing from Coeur d'alene, Idaho, said “It was an academically challenging course. You have to study for hours and having family around and wanting to be with your family at the same time … it’s a lot of on you.”
A lot is demanded of the students during the three week course. Prospective Pathfinders must go through multiple exams, hands-on tasks and one final field training exercise. When factoring in the off-duty time spent studying, it’s a huge amount of information that is required to memorize and retain in a short amount of time.
“The instructors were very knowledgeable and helpful throughout the course,” said Forrest. He went on to add that if you don’t have that discipline to study in the long run it will show.
| Date Taken: | 05.31.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 06.07.2013 19:10 |
| Story ID: | 108315 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, AK, US |
| Hometown: | COEUR D'ALENE, ID, US |
| Hometown: | SAN ANTONIO, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 395 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Spartan paratroopers earn the Torch, by CPT Eric-James Estrada, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT