Promise to love, honor and train with you

Photo By Sgt. Stephanie Woodson | Soldiers get briefed by their 1st sergeants after returning from a less than 45-day deployment to Fort Irwin, Calif. More than 140 Soldiers assigned to 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division returned to Lawson Army Airfield, Aug. 28, 2014.  

FORT BENNING, GA, UNITED STATES

08.28.2014

Story by Sgt. Stephanie Woodson 

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

FORT BENNING, Ga. - More than 140 Soldiers assigned to the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, arrived at the Lawson Army Airfield, on Fort Benning, Aug. 28, after spending nearly 45 days at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California.

The 3rd ABCT deployed Soldiers to NTC to provide observer controller support to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, during its NTC rotation.

"NTC was an experience. I highly recommend the experience to anybody," said Capt. Michael Poole, a planner assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd ABCT.

Fort Irwin is an Army installation which covers 1,214 square miles and is located in the Mojave Desert about an hour drive northeast of Barstow, California.

"I really enjoyed it. I would do it again if I had the opportunity to," said 1st Lt. Eileen Poole, assigned to 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd ABCT. "I learned a lot that’s for sure."

This was the married couple’s first time training together. They said “they were fortunate to experience this type of training together,” she said.

During the training, they both served as observer controllers on different teams, she added.

The role of an observer controller is to observe units during various training scenarios, to control the training unit’s environment and to provide feedback during the after-action review.

Despite their different schedules, they saw each other occasionally in the morning before going to "the box" to train.

The 'box' is a simulated battlefield area, for all five services to train service members for deployments.

"Even though we didn't get to see other often, it was good to have him around," she said. "This was a different experience for us."

He added, that’s a plus and something most couples don't get to do.

• Date Taken: 08.28.2014
• Date Posted: 09.02.2014 18:45
• Story ID: 140990
• Location: FORT BENNING, GA, US