Black Jack Soldiers 'storm' into JRTC

Photo By Master Sgt. Kap Kim | Black Jack commander Col. Ryan Gonsalves speaks to his battalion commanders during the operations and intelligence brief at Fort Polk, La., Sept. 13, 2008. The briefing kicked off the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division's Joint Readiness Training Center Rotation 08-10.  

UNITED STATES

09.15.2008

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Kap Kim 

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

By Sgt. 1st Class Kap Kim
1st Cavalry Division

FORT POLK, La. – As soon as the 2nd "Black Jack" Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division arrived at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La., last week, their first opposing force came in the form of the high and low pressure system that drove hurricane Ike toward the Gulf of Mexico near the Texas/Louisiana boarder.

A few tornadoes near 15th Brigade Support Battalion and attached unit, 3rd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment's forward operating base was not enough to thwart Black Jack's goal during their JRTC rotation.

According to Col. Ryan Gonsalves, the 2nd BCT commander, as training would press through any storm, the main goal during his unit's JRTC rotation is "team building."

"The brigade has to come together as a team to accomplish our mission, whether that is the training objectives inherent to the situational training exercise lanes, or force-on-force," he said. "We have a new team at the brigade level that has not worked together very long and this is a great opportunity, with limited distracters, to do just that with subject matter experts at our side."

According to JRTC Brigade command and control's senior observer/controller, Lt. Col. Val Keaveny, as most of their O/Cs have recent deployment experience, he told the Black Jack staff that what they intend to work on is helping them help themselves develop a successful plan.

"We come with a second set of eyes – an experienced set of eyes," Keaveny said. "We are on your team ... we are here to coach, teach and mentor."

As a new team, Gonsalves said the challenge for the Soldiers at the battalion level, their goal, although similar to that of the entire BCT, is to build confidence within their team.

"At the battalion level, leaders and Soldiers need to be competent and confident in their equipment, their tactics, techniques and procedures, and themselves," he said. "The goal for this rotation is to have a great training experience where everyone comes home safe, and to build a strong Black Jack team that is ready to conduct combat operations and accomplish any mission given."

According to Gonsalves, Fort Polk's JRTC and its staff has provided Black Jack with as real-to-life training as possible, and added that units should take full advantage of the facilities.

"It is an incredibly difficult challenge to simulate a deployment to Iraq with all the challenges and variables that a unit may face; however, JRTC has taken the necessary steps to simulate as much as possible those aspects of the operating environment that the BCT will encounter in daily operations," he said. "This attention to detail is evident in the rubble piles lining the roads throughout the training area that hide improvised explosive devices, and the native role players that Soldiers will encounter during training who may or may not be the enemy – details like these force Soldiers to maintain focus throughout the rotation which is instrumental to the brigade's success now and in the future."

According to Keaveny, replicating but not duplicating an Iraq experience is what the training center tries to do for their rotational units. Keaveny said what the JRTC team of O/Cs try to simulate is the first 30 days into a deployment. "Hopefully, you'll experience more here than you'll face in the first 30 days."

As soon as the Soldiers landed on Fort Polk, they quickly pushed out to their respective forward operating bases. After that, most of the Soldiers went through specific training at the individual and team level. Then they entered the brigade's situational training exercise with lanes set up to simulate reacting to a roadside bomb threat, going on patrols with Iraqi security forces and several others. The culmination of the exercise is the force-on-force portion where they simulate warfighting.

As this is the 2nd BCT's last major training event before their deployment to Iraq early next year, Gonsalves stressed how important it was for all his Soldiers to make the "most" of every training opportunity, and that no matter how short staffed they are right now, that they will continue to strive to work as a successful team.

"We have to develop our ways of doing things as a team," he told his staff. "We don't have all the field grades [field grade officers] and senior non-commissioned officers, but people step up in our organization."

• Date Taken: 09.15.2008
• Date Posted: 09.15.2008 17:16
• Story ID: 23708
• Location: US