Army reservists train in the rain

Photo By Sgt. Victor Ayala | A soldier from the 362nd Quartermaster Battalion, 143rd Expeditionary Support Command, ground guides a Humvee into position at a bivouac site on Fort Bragg, March 6, as part of a four-day Field Training Exercise. The annual exercise provides nearly 400 Army reservists from across North Carolina with the opportunity to qualify with their weapons, receive medical and dental care, and train on basic warrior skills. (Official U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Victor Ayala, 210th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)  

FORT BRAGG, NC, UNITED STATES

03.09.2014

Story by Sgt. Victor Ayala 

210th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - More than 400 reservists from units across North Carolina recently came together here and proved the old adage; "if it ain't rainin, we ain't trainin" still rings true. The soldiers of the 362nd Quartermaster Battalion, 143rd Expeditionary Support Command rolled through the gates here March 5 and spent the next four days battling the elements and undergoing some valuable training.

The annual four-day field exercise was held to gauge and improve the readiness of the battalion and its nine subordinate units by providing soldiers the opportunity to qualify on individual and crew served weapons, providing medical and dental services, as well as sharpening basic warrior skills such as land navigation and map reading.

Upon arriving at Fort Bragg, soldiers of the battalion immediately established camp deep in the piney North Carolina woods, setting up tents, moving equipment into place and preparing for the upcoming training.

Early the next day, the soldiers took to the weapons qualification ranges, medical training lanes and land navigation course, despite temperatures hovering near 29 degrees, a steady rain hammering down and cold winds gusts in excess of 30 miles-per-hour.

Trudging on through the bone-chilling conditions, soldiers prepared their training sites, qualified on their individual and crew-served weapons, navigated miles of muddy red clay roads, and were seen standing victorious at the end of the week having achieved their training objectives.

Lt. Col. Brian Woodford, commander of the 362nd, was impressed by the fortitude and professionalism of his soldiers as they carried out their missions. “I have never been so proud of a group of soldiers,” said Woodford on the last day of the exercise. “Soldiers who, despite the rain and the wind and the cold, continued to train. I did not hear soldiers complain, but I did hear soldiers say, 'this is what we do!'”

When the last tent had been packed up and the last vehicle left the gates, the Battalion had increased its soldiers overall medical and dental readiness as well as their weapons qualification numbers. A noteworthy accomplishment considering the soldiers had to fight the elements and some of the worst weather Mother Nature could throw at them in the process.

• Date Taken: 03.09.2014
• Date Posted: 03.24.2014 16:08
• Story ID: 122457
• Location: FORT BRAGG, NC, US