Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Matt Scotten | Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 151st Infantry Regiment, Indiana Army National Guard,...... read more read more
EDINBURGH, Ind. – Soldiers from the Indiana National Guard with the 2nd Battalion, 151st Infantry Regiment played part in a multinational exercise at Camp Atterbury Training Center this month called Bold Quest 2011, a joint staff led military coalition combat assessment exercise designed to test the interoperability of target identification systems of 12 NATO member nations to reduce friendly fire incidents.
The exercise, which involved more than 700 foreign and U.S. military members, took place Sept. 8 through Sept. 23.
According to John Miller, Bold Quest operational manager, the exercise brings together forces from coalition nations to analyze and test equipment and training practices in order to facilitate better communication between joint forces operating in the same area and minimize friendly fire incidents as much as possible.
This year’s Bold Quest exercise stands out as the first one to involve heavy support from National Guard units, many times role-playing as opposing forces in scenarios that pitted them against military forces from all over the world so that equipment could be tested to identify good guys from bad guys.
The 2nd-151st soldiers trained in human immersion simulators that allowed operations analysts to gather data on the stress of human decision-making at the war-fighter level, and training solutions to deal with those kinds of stress factors.
“The human immersion simulator was a little difficult to use at first, but once you figure it out, it was great,” said Pfc. Kevin Hadley, an Elkhart, Ind., native and forward observer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd-151st Inf. “A system like this would allow the guard to do realistic infantry training right there in the armory. I think every unit should have one.”
Miller said the willingness of the Indiana soldiers to do whatever was needed during Bold Quest was instrumental in the success of the exercise.
“Everything we have asked the guard units to do, on the ground and in the air, and in many cases, grab some technologies they were not familiar with, they have just done it and with a great attitude,” said Miller. “Personally, I would repeat this and work with them in this type of venue any time.”
Capt. Brent Schmidt, a South Bend, Ind. native and commander, “B” Company, 2nd-151st Inf., said although much of what his soldiers did was act as opposing forces during various scenarios against coalition troops, another purpose was being served at the same time.
“All of my soldiers wore vests that allowed them to be tracked by the operations section of the exercise. Each soldier shows up on the tracking equipment to help Bold Quest study how troops can be effectively identified on the battlefield. The whole time they were out there they were collecting data that could help save lives,” said Schmidt.
Spc. Nicholas Pudell, an Otterbein, Ind., native and forward observer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd-151st Inf., said he is proud that he has been able to take part in Bold Quest and have the opportunity to work with other service members from countries to help test new technologies that could render positive results on the battlefield.
“It was a really good experience,” said Pudell. “It makes me feel really good that what we’re doing out here could possibly help save soldiers lives in Afghanistan and Iraq right now. It also makes me feel really good that they came to the Indiana National Guard and asked us to do this. It’s a privilege to be here.”
Besides testing equipment for operations analysts, Indiana Guardsmen also had the opportunity to get to know soldiers from the participating coalition countries, comparing tactics procedures and weaponry.
“It’s been pretty awesome seeing some of the similarities, as well as the differences, between our own ways of doing things and those of other units from foreign countries here,” said Staff Sgt. Shey J. Kelley, a Logansport, Ind. native and squad leader with 2nd Platoon., “B” Company, 2nd-151st Inf.
Although this is the first time Indiana National Guard units have participated in Bold Quest, Stuart Whitehead, assistant deputy director of Command, Control and Integration for the U.S. Joint Staff, said he had every confidence that the Guard would complement the exercise well.
“My expectation was pretty high because of the Guard’s reputation and the contributions the Guard has made and continues to make in the fight today,” said Whitehead. “Given the way the total force is working today, I think what we found is that we are able to work at very high levels of tempo and technical expertise.”
| Date Taken: | 09.23.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 09.23.2011 16:41 |
| Story ID: | 77503 |
| Location: | EDINBURGH, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 128 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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