Photo By Sgt. 1st Class John Carkeet IV | Army Sgt. Shawn M. Simmerman, a Brighton, Colo., native serving as a fire team leader...... read more read more
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RUMMU, Estonia – The waning moon gives an eerie glow to Murru Vangla, a Soviet-era prison nestled between a rock quarry and a man-made lake lapping the shores of Rummu, Estonia. The worn books, tattered posters, tangled cables and broken office furniture littered throughout the sprawling complex testify the prison’s reckless abandonment five years earlier.
The familiar chirping of crickets gives way to pounding footsteps and harsh whispers. Shadowy figures dart between buildings while silhouettes pop into view from barred windows. A startled shout echoes across the campus as a diesel engine roars to life. Glass shards shower the pavement as Soldiers shatter windows with their weapons’ butt stocks to clear their lines of sight. Muzzle flashes illuminate Murru Vangla’s main gate moments before a rumbling Armored Personnel Carrier blocks the entrance, its mounted machine gun joining the cacophony.
Operation Steadfast Javelin II had begun.
U.S. Army paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade and Estonian Defense Forces soldiers from the Single Infantry Scouts Battalion joined forces for a pair of night raid training missions held Sep. 6-7 at Murru Vangla, an abandoned prison built in 1938 at Rummu, Estonia. The raids were part of Operation Steadfast Javelin II, a NATO exercise involving more than 2,000 troops from nine nations conducting various training missions across Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
“The raid on the prison consisted of three American platoons and one Estonian platoon hitting four objectives simultaneously,” said 1st Lt. Jorge L. Maldonado, the executive officer for Company B, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. “The mission’s inherent complexity demonstrated our ability to overcome obstacles or circumnavigate difficulties when working with allied forces.”
The exercise tested the Army’s interoperability with NATO as the integrated air and ground forces synchronized complex operations through airborne and air assault missions.
“We had planned to incorporate Apache and Blackhawk [helicopters] on both days, but bad weather cut their involvement to one day,” said Sgt. 1st Class Derek J. Ertmer, a platoon sergeant in Company B. “Despite that the raid gave us a great opportunity to conduct multiple echelons of training at once.”
Due to the implementation of various air and ground assets from two countries, the American paratroopers and their Estonian counterparts spent a week planning and rehearsing for the elaborate mission.
“Our planning methods are almost identical to the Americans,” said 1st Lt. Toomas Karting, a platoon sergeant for Company C, Single Infantry Scouts Battalion, Estonian Defense Forces. Both sides understood each other’s planning process, so it was easy for us to coordinate the details.”
The planning also took into account the hundreds of Rummu residents that would inevitably see and hear the simulated assault from their homes.
“The prison is in close proximity of several apartment buildings and a school,” said Maldonado, a native of Palm Springs, California. “It took coordination with our Estonian partners to ensure the locals were aware of our training mission.”
The long days and late nights culminated into a final brief that highlighted a handcrafted, three-dimensional model of Murru Vangla.
“The American Soldiers found the model in the warden’s office,” said Karting. “Models with that much detail take a very long time to construct, so it was our good fortune to have one as a visual aid.”
Despite the rigorous on-site rehearsals, the raid’s unique setting presented plenty of obstacles to the troops, many of whom had little experience in urban combat.
“The sheer size of the prison posed a threat,” said Ertmer, a native of Stockton, Illinois. “There are at least 48 buildings, with each one boasting at least 50 windows. You didn’t know where the enemy was hiding.”
The “enemy” consisted of scores of American and Estonian soldiers role-playing as insurgents determined to defend the prison at all costs. Both sides fired thousands of Simunition rounds, non-lethal training projectiles that splatter orange paint on impact.
“Using Simunition rounds adds a new dynamic to training,” said Maldonado. “It’s the closest thing to a real fire fight that you can get.”
“The fact that [Simunition] rounds sting puts the ‘two-way range’ concept into perspective,” added Ertmer. “When these rounds start flying, our Soldiers tend to make smarter decisions on where to take cover and when to return fire.”
As the battle spread from the prison’s streets and parking lots to its hallways and stairwells, a predicted yet perplexing challenge revealed itself: total darkness.
“Every soldier on the assault had night vision equipment,” said Karting. “Even with this gear, it’s difficult to recognize individuals when looking through the green hue of their NODs (Night Optic Devices), making command and control difficult.
With visibility limited to mere inches in some buildings, the troops relied on their ears and mouths to navigate through mazes of rooms.
“The Soldiers quickly realized that communication is key, especially during night operations,” said Ertmer. “Once they understood that they had to constantly talk to one another and describe their immediate surroundings via voice and radio, our Soldiers created an accurate picture of what was going beyond their line of sight.”
The shouting and shooting faded as each platoon cleared their respective objectives. Some enemy combatants walked out of the buildings with hands raised high, signaling that they were “killed” in action. Others were carried out in stretchers to simulate the wounded.
“Some members of the opposing forces had fake blood on their clothing or wore latex replicas of gunshot wounds on their bodies,” said Ertmer. “This gave our medics a realistic training scenario on how to care for casualties immediately after a fire fight.”
The assault came to a climatic end when Ertmer’s platoon rushed across the campus to support their Estonian allies.
“We had a situation where an enemy vehicle had pinned down [the Estonian] troops,” said Karting. “A company commander from the Scouts Battalion called for support from the Americans.”
“My platoon cleared our objective in 10 minutes, so we had the flexibility to reinforce our Estonian allies. They had taken casualties, but they had everything under control by the time we got there.”
A single word shouted by Company B’s commander brought the assault to a successful conclusion.
“Index!”
As the tired but triumphant troops congratulated one another on a job well done, the Estonian and American command teams acknowledged their unit’s amazing performance.
“We did extremely well considering that most of our Soldiers did not have prior training fighting in urban environments,” said Ertmer. “They moved fast without forgetting the fundamentals.”
“This mission showed us that many of our young leaders are very driven and professional,” added Maldonado. “They demonstrated that they are up to the challenge and are very capable of supporting our NATO partners in any mission.”
Both sides look forward to conducting similar missions in the near future.
“This was a really good experience for both sides,” said Karting. “I’m sure the [Estonian] Scouts Battalion will continue learning from the Americans, and I hope the Americans learn a few things from us.”
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 12.30.2014 19:16 |
| Story ID: | 151232 |
| Location: | RUMMU, EE |
| Web Views: | 800 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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