Raider Brigade Soldiers take up camp in Kuwait

Photo By Sgt. David Hodge | Soldiers from the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, fire their individual weapon systems during a familiarization range at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, March 11, before the unit moves north to Iraq to support Multi-National Division - Baghdad as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom 07-09.  

CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT

03.26.2008

Story by Sgt. David Hodge 

1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

By Spc. David Hodge
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – The Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, pitched their tents at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, during the month of March, in preparation for their 15-month rotation with Multi-National Division – Baghdad.

Raider Brigade Soldiers will use this short time in Kuwait's Udairi Desert to hone their combat skills in preparation for the missions that will executed daily for the units that are deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said Lt. Col. Paul Hossenlopp, deputy commander, 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div.

"The training here in Kuwait gives the Soldiers a chance to get acclimated to the theater and climate change," Hossenlopp said. "Also, it allows Soldiers to be successful at the personal and crew-levels before they enter combat operations."

Hossenlopp said that he believes the valuable training is a critical piece in ensuring the overall combat readiness for the Raider Brigade, and will better prepare the Soldiers to fight as a unit in Baghdad.

The latest round of training for the Soldiers incorporated the most recent techniques, tactics and procedures used on today's battlefield and served as refresher for some of the veteran Soldiers.

"We have had some new training this time," said Spc. Jario Calidonio, a scout assigned to the Scout Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st BCT. "The (improvised explosive device) training was good; it was a refresher for my mind."

Calidonio, who hails from Los Angeles, said that the Soldiers of his Scout Platoon arrived in Kuwait combat-ready and look forward to the challenges of the future operations.

The training in Kuwait varied from hip-pocket training on the rules of engagement and laws of land warfare and instruction on the Humvee Egress Assistance Trainer to three-day training events for the Army's newest combat vehicle, the Mine Resistant and Ambush Protected vehicle.

Among the new training the Soldiers attended during their first two weeks in camp was a medical treatment-based class devoted to teaching Soldiers how to stabilize wounds until a higher echelon of medical treatment is available, said Mike Haight, a training facilitator and instructor at Camp Buehring's Medical Support Training Center.

"The training has evolved into more of a combat-casualty care and combat life saver course for Soldiers," Haight said.

This four-hour class has already paid dividends on the battlefield since its start in May 2006, explained the retired Special Forces medic with more than 15 years of service.

"Soldiers have said that the material taught in the class is what's working on the ground," said Haight, a native of Seattle.

Since its inception, the class has doubled in size and is on the verge of doubling its numbers again, said Haight. The number of Soldiers trained at the class since its last expansion has multiplied four-fold.

Raider Brigade Soldiers attending the class said it was educational, but lacked the usual classroom characteristic: boredom.

"The advanced combat life saver course was very informative," said Pfc. Jensen Buller, a medic from Oshkosh, Wis., assigned to the personnel security detachment, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div.

The 1st BCT has added all the training of Kuwait to its repertoire, and with the rigors of combat operations inside Baghdad on the horizon, Raider Brigade Soldiers will be given the opportunity to adapt to a similarly harsh environment, said Sgt. Maj. Ronald Smiley, operations sergeant major, 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div.

"In Kuwait, the training builds the Soldiers' confidence on their weapons and hones other necessary combat skills," Smiley said.

Upon arriving in Baghdad, the 1st BCT Soldiers can expect to be busy learning their new area of operation from the outgoing unit, so it is important that the Raider Soldiers make the best of the training environment in Kuwait, said Smiley.

"We want to make Iraq a safer place for its citizens and security forces," Smiley said. "Also to make sure the unit replacing us is better situated in regards to training and the environment on the ground."

With their boots on the ground, the Soldiers continue their reception into the Central Command Theater with orientation briefs and several periods of classroom training while allowing their bodies to acclimatize before conducting rifle and gunnery ranges.

"The Soldiers have met the standards," said Smiley, who hails from Lake Village, Ark. "Overall, Soldiers are achieving all the training goals, and in fact, are ahead of schedule."

Soldiers of the Raider Brigade continue to conduct pre-combat checks and inspections to ensure that they are ready to assume their upcoming mission in Baghdad's Rashid district.

• Date Taken: 03.26.2008
• Date Posted: 03.26.2008 13:33
• Story ID: 17771
• Location: CAMP BUEHRING, KW