Task Force Brawler’s secret weapon: The ground combat platoon

Photo By Sgt. Scott Tant | U.S. Army Spc. Joshua Frank, ground combat platoon member with Company E, Task Force Brawler, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, TF Falcon, from Alexandria, La., pulls perimeter security after exiting a helicopter during a key leader engagement mission May 2 in Logar province.  

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHANK, AFGHANISTAN

09.21.2010

Courtesy Story

Combined Joint Task Force 101

By 2nd Lt. Erik Bernard

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHANK, Afghanistan – Within the Army, there are many jobs, but the profession of arms unites all military operational specialties into a common mindset that requires maintenance of a core ability to defeat the enemy. At Forward Operating Base Shank, Task Force Brawler, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, TF Falcon, trained one platoon to do more than just their Military Occupational Specialty, honoring the profession of arms and making an impact on the battlefield. This platoon is the ground combat platoon, known to the Brawlers as the GCP.

Prior to their deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, TF Brawler identified the need for its own dynamic combat platoon; one developed from within their aviation task force. TF Brawler commander, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Robert Ault, from Orange, Calif., and other TF leaders, identified this need after a careful analysis of the mission ahead and the brigade commander’s intent. Initially, they knew they were not going to be provided a unit specifically used to maintain and operate drop zones, helicopter landing zones and pick-up zones, as the previous deployed units had, so there was a need to fulfill the personnel recovery and downed aircraft recovery team capabilities.

“We decided to tap the tactical knowledge from within our command team that was developed during our previous deployments and apply it towards the creation of the GCP,” said Ault.

Although air assets bring an enormous capability to the battlefield, the Brawler command team determined that to win the counterinsurgency fight, there was an absolute need to operate among the local populace on the ground. The GCP would help bridge the gap between what happens on the ground and what can be done from the air, serving as the Brawler’s ‘secret weapon’ needed to effectively enter and affect the battle space.

With that, the preparations and training of a total package, infantry-styled platoon began. The TF Brawler pre-deployment focus had already been physical training, weapons proficiency and medical skills. With the hands-on infantry experience of select members from within Company E, TF Brawler, the foundation was set, ensuring a process that would forge a cohesive platoon capable of executing with tactical precision against a very dynamic enemy. However, many difficulties lay ahead.

“The GCP encountered numerous challenges in the initial phases of its development,” said U.S. Army Capt. Andrew Alvord, GCP platoon leader in Company E, TF Brawler, from Mentor, Ohio. “We knew that in order for this unit to be successful we needed to include the very best leaders from top to bottom. From the start, these leaders understood that if they couldn’t make the cut, they would be replaced by a leader who was up to the task.”

Assisting Alvord in the leadership of the GCP, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Samuel Middleton, Company E, TF Brawler, from Charleston, S.C., was added in the beginning as the platoon sergeant. The training that built the GCP began in March 2009 with high intensity training, which is a type of training consistent with their primary function as an aerial reaction force. The training centered on realistic objectives developed on the battlefield through aerial recon, human intelligence gathering and weapons proficiency.

“Because there was no tactical doctrine for tasks such as aerial vehicle and personnel interdiction, key leader engagements, etc., we started our training from scratch,” said Alvord. “Our standard operating procedure was created from lessons learned through tried and true tactics, techniques and procedures that we trained on every day. We participated in multiple combat focused [field training exercises], convoy live-fires and live-fire shoot houses.”

The GCP provides the ground force commander maximum flexibility on the battlefield. In January, the GCP utilized their air mobility capabilities and captured a Taliban combatant who was hiding from conventional ground forces in a cave at more than 8,000 feet in the mountains. In March, the GCP detained a key insurgent facilitator during a snap traffic control point stop, a tactic of setting up random vehicle checkpoints to capture suspected insurgents.

“We quickly gained a reputation for being a combat multiplier while continuing to revise and train for other capabilities such as conducting long range reconnaissance, snap traffic control points and key leader engagements,” said Alvord.

The GCP conducts numerous sensitive site exploitation missions after TF Brawler’s Apaches have engaged insurgents, enabling TF Brawler to operate expeditiously and self sustained without the need to wait for coordination with other ground forces. They also provide disaster assistance response team security, as well as vehicle and personnel interdiction which enable the ground force commander to develop a situation with an option of nonlethal effects.

“Since the creation of the ground combat platoon and arriving in country, our mission set has multiplied into tasks we never thought possible,” said Alvord. “Upon arrival, our only mission was to assume 24-hour DART capability within our area of operation. That quickly developed into an aerial reconnaissance platform patrolling within the Logar Province, then to aerial recon and reaction force for deliberate operations.”

Additionally, the GCP’s rapid response time and tactical presence on the battlefield enable TF Brawler the ability to prevent enemy forces from retaining the use of weapons, misleading the local nationals or contaminating the engagement sites of Brawler’s tactical victories as TF Brawler neutralizes enemy threats in the area of operations.

The flexibility of the GCP enables TF Brawler to partner with the Afghan National Army and enables operations in the more remote areas within TF Brawler’s battle space. The successful partnering with the ANA continues to help TF Brawler bridge many cultural gaps, with an ultimate goal of a better, safer Afghanistan. The GCP and the ANA spend hours on end training to execute their battle drills and conducting combined-arms missions with precision.

“Key leader engagements pulled us even deeper in the counterinsurgency and ultimately led to the partnership with the ANA,” said Alvord. “We trained on all of our capabilities and began to conduct COIN operations in key villages in Logar Province in order to bring development, governance and security to the local populace.”

During missions, the GCP unites U.S. and ANA soldiers in every fighting and security position. This provides the ANA critical experience to develop the essential tactical skills needed to defend the local populous and defeat a determined enemy. The partnership also provides the GCP with the crucial cultural knowledge required to interact with the local populace.

“I don’t think I ever understood the impact of phrases and gestures in other cultures until now,” said U.S. Army Sgt. William Alford, GCP squad leader with Company E, TF Brawler, from Albany, Ga. “Certain gestures for us, like turning our palm up and waving our hand for someone to ‘come here,’ the Afghans turn their palm down. And in a country where the right hand is more important than the left one, we [Americans] have to be very conscious of what we do with our hands.”

This approach increased the possibility of establishing the partnerships with local villages needed to defeat the full-bodied insurgency that threatens the socioeconomic development of Afghanistan as a functional sovereign state.

Additionally, the GCP and TF Brawler are laying the solid foundation essential to the creation and sustainment of the unified Afghan and U.S. effort needed to deny the insurgency any useable resources and limit their freedom to maneuver by empowering the local populace to become resilient to the influence of terrorism.

“I think the biggest lesson learned is to never underestimate a soldier’s potential and ability, given the right leadership and mentorship,” said Alvord. “These men have been charged with some great challenges. They have realized and surpassed any expectation, and in turn, have formed a brotherhood and a sense of leadership that they never would have realized in their other positions. That is something that they will take with them when this mission is over and pass on to further develop soldiers in other units.”

• Date Taken: 09.21.2010
• Date Posted: 09.21.2010 15:20
• Story ID: 56738
• Location: FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHANK, AF