Marne Division educates West Point cadets on branch opportunities

Courtesy Photo | Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Rice, an operations noncommissioned officer with 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, explains a simulated operation in the battalion’s tactical operations center, Sept. 10, 2014, at West Point, N.Y., during the United States Military Academy’s Branch Week. Simulated exercise showed the cadets see how all the branches are integrated and how the Army works as a combined arms team. (U.S. Army Photo by 1st Lt. Nicholas Richardson, 3-15 Inf., 4th IBCT, 3rd ID)  

WEST POINT, NY, UNITED STATES

09.15.2014

Courtesy Story

4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division, or the Marne Division, out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, spent a week at the United States Military Academy at West Point to educate cadets of the potential branches they could serve in during USMA’s annual Branch Week, Sept. 8-12.

Branch Week provides cadets the opportunity to learn about the 16 branches commissioned officers are offered by talking with enlisted soldiers and commissioned officers currently serving in their respective branches.

The opportunity to ask questions and gain insight from the experienced soldiers manning the stations can prove invaluable to cadets as they make their branch choices.

Soldiers from Company D, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd ID, proudly represented the infantry branch as they showed a light infantry display, weapon systems, equipment and camouflage face paint to the cadets.

First Lt. Stefan Griffith and 1st Lt. Mikel Weich, both West Point graduates and now infantry officers with the “Can Do” Battalion, explained the formation and capabilities of a light infantry squad and answered questions the cadets had about the infantry.

“Having taken part in branch week as a cadet, I know how important this event is to helping them make an informed decision,” said Griffith, the executive officer for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3-15 Infantry.

While the 3-15 Infantry soldiers shared their knowledge and passion with the cadets about the infantry branch, the opportunity to learn about all the branches can guide many of the cadets into a desired profession.

“It was important to us to be as professional as possible and represent the infantry with pride,” said Weich, the executive officer for Company A, 3-15 Infantry.

“Hopefully we convinced some undecided cadets [to] make up their mind as to what branch is best for them,” added the Livingston, New Jersey, native.

Artillery soldiers from Battery B, 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th IBCT, joined their infantry counterparts, as they represented the field artillery branch.

The artillery display included an M119 105 mm towed howitzer, an M777 155 mm towed howitzer and the M109 155 mm self-propelled “Paladin” howitzer, all indirect fire artillery pieces.

Also from Fort Stewart, the 92nd Engineer Battalion manned the engineer branch display and soldiers from the 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd ID, represented the finance branch. The rest of the branch displays were represented by other units from across the country.

In addition to their light infantry squad display, members of the 3-15 Infantry Battalion staff also conducted a full iteration of the military decision making process and a computer simulation Command Post Exercise, or CPX, from the battalion tactical operations center for the cadets to observe.

The Virtual Battlespace 2, a battlefield simulation system, was instrumental during the CPX, which allowed cadets to see how all the branches are integrated in a command post and how the Army works as a combined arms team. The exercise also provided the cadets a realistic experience on how battlefield events are tracked and how higher level decisions are made during a combat operation — a look inside to what goes on behind the fight.

At the conclusion of the week, the cadets showed their appreciation by having a barbecue for the “Can Do” soldiers before they returned to Fort Stewart to resume training.

• Date Taken: 09.15.2014
• Date Posted: 09.17.2014 13:47
• Story ID: 142429
• Location: WEST POINT, NY, US
• Hometown: LIVINGSTON, NJ, US