Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Zane Craig | U.S. Army Spc. Robert Bickmore, left, a military police officer with the 1st Platoon,...... read more read more
RAPID CITY, S.D. – Soldiers of 1st Platoon, 94th Military Police Company took part in a dismounted patrol lane June 17 at West Camp Rapid, S.D. as part of Golden Coyote 2013.
Before the exercise began, the Observer-Controller-Trainer of the event briefed the platoon about their mission, to conduct a presence patrol and capture a high-value target, and about the potential hazards on the lane, including the steep, wooded terrain over the mile-long course.
“Our overall objective is to make sure everyone is safe and everyone gets something out of the exercise,” said Staff Sgt. Tyson Hensley, Observer-Controller-Trainer for the dismounted lane, Joint Force Headquarters, South Dakota National Guard.
“Our job is to kind of sit back and assess, and if the unit is having difficulties navigating the course or with their movements, we’ll step in and give them pointers,” added the Hill City, S.D. resident.
The Soldiers split into small teams to move tactically through the woods, where the opposing forces team engaged them with small arms fire and improvised explosive devices, forcing the teams to distinguish civilians from enemy combatants, and secure enemy prisoners of war.
“We pushed through pretty well, we were aggressive and stayed aggressive, and we got through to the objective,” said Cpl. Jason Allen, military police with the 1st Plt., 94th MPC., and a Portland, Maine resident.
Along the way, the opposing forces captured a Soldier from the platoon and his radio, forcing them to halt radio communication. By the end of the exercise, at the top of the hill, only three soldiers remained in play, but they had secured the HVT, accomplishing the goal of the patrol.
“From the starting point to endex, the end of the exercise, the teams see their mistakes, and we address those all the way through and when they reach the objective, everyone normally has a good picture of what’s going on,” said Hensley.
When the mission ended, the Soldiers removed their Kevlar helmets and their load bearing vests and gathered in the shade for an after-action-review, where Hensley led a discussion about what the platoon did well and areas that need improvement.
“The team this morning did very well, their spacing and movement techniques went well, everybody’s going to bind up at some point, that’s kind of what it’s designed to do, to make you react to stressful situations,” said Hensley.
He added, approximately ten units and 300 Soldiers who participated in the dismounted lane this year, there were very different types of units all with different levels of ability and experience.
“The training is as realistic as you make it, these guys were very motivated, they had fun with it, they took it seriously enough that they got something out of it, that’s our overall goal, which I think we achieved and went above and beyond,” said Hensley.
Military Police do not usually conduct dismounted patrols in a deployed environment, but this lane is a good refresher of some basic soldier skills such as moving in teams, reacting to contact and securing an enemy prisoner of war said Spc. Benjamin Coon, military police with the 94th MPC and a Saco, Maine resident.
“It’s always good to be well-rounded and I think that’s where this training comes into play, to make us...well-rounded and more adaptable,” said Allen.
This specific lane is a perfect way for Soldiers to polish their soldiering skills. Not many people get a chance to do this in their day to day jobs, in their Military Occupational Specialty, so people like to have fun with it, said Hensley.
“Each unit does very well, because everyone is a Soldier first,” he said.
Hensley said the South Dakota National Guard supplied excellent trainers and all the necessary equipment to conduct training scenarios that accurately mimic real-world situations.
“They’ve got some really high-speed Soldiers running the lanes out here, infantry guys running the dismounted lane, which is great. Those guys know what they’re doing and it’s great to learn from the best,” said Allen.
The 94th has been to Golden Coyote before, and according to Coon, the training keeps getting more interesting and challenging. In addition to the dismounted lane, they went through the urban patrol lane.
“We’ll absolutely be sharing stories from this one, stories and scratches,” said Coon.
| Date Taken: | 06.17.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 06.20.2013 12:17 |
| Story ID: | 108947 |
| Location: | RAPID CITY, SD, US |
| Hometown: | HILL CITY, SD, US |
| Hometown: | PORTLAND, ME, US |
| Web Views: | 281 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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