Photo By Spc. Andrew Orillion | Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Gary Bruce, a Chemical, Biological, Explosives, Radiological...... read more read more
FORT HUNTER-LIGGETT, Calif. - His hat reads, “Authentic Original Cowboy.” For Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Gary Bruce, a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives specialist with 592nd Ordinance Company, Detachment 1 out of Butte, Mont., it’s just one of many hats he’s worn in a military career that has spanned almost four decades.
“I’ve heard my troops say that my first command was, ‘Archers, prepare to fire,’” said Bruce.
Bruce’s career began in 1973 when he enlisted in the Marine Corps shortly after his 18th birthday. He worked in Marine Recon and in the legal department, among other fields, before switching to the Army National Guard. He served in the National Guard from 1982 until 1992. After a four-year stint as a civilian, Bruce entered the Army Reserve and has been there ever since.
Over the course of his career, Bruce has served under eight U.S. presidents and has had 11 different military occupational specialties. In one form or another, he has served in all four branches and even worked in the Coast Guard doing drug interdiction. He is currently both a CBRNE and a chemical and radiation safety officer with the 592nd.
“He’s got knowledge for days, it’s amazing,” said Sgt. Cecil Pugh, 647th Transportation Company. “He’s too squared away. He’s always going. He’s one of those one who will come to you before you get a chance to come to him.”
Pugh, an observer-controller for Combat Support Training Exercise-91, works with Bruce, who currently leads one of the largest Opposing Force cells for CSTX-91.
Bruce has been doing OPFOR missions for most of his military career, even when he was in the Marine Reserve. While in the National Guard, he was a full-time OPFOR cavalry scout, using Soviet anti-tank tactics.
Being OPFOR has changed since those early days, Bruce said. The training and various lanes have gotten much better and the enemy itself has changed, too.
“Before, I was doing it against tanks and ground units. Now, I’m doing it against all types of units,” said Bruce. “Today, you don’t know who the enemy is on the battlefield.”
Bruce loves the challenge of OPFOR, but he also sees a deeper mission. For him, it’s about saving the lives of the Soldiers he “fights” against.
He uses his extensive OPFOR background to put the deploying Soldiers through the paces and give them the best training possible. If his OPFOR team does its best, the troops preparing for deployment will make their mistakes here, instead of downrange.
“We’re not trying to make it difficult for them. We’re trying to make it realistic,” said Bruce. “The better we are, the more professional we are, gives their knife a sharper edge to survive.”
For Bruce, it’s a simple philosophy - training, practice and reality.
“You can go out and train against dummies that shoot,” said Bruce. “It doesn’t do a thing until you’ve got that other opposition with the thought mind to attack you.”
When he isn’t helping train soldiers or any number of other military jobs, Bruce makes his home in the small town of Ledger, Montana, population of about five, on a good day, according to Bruce.
The nearest town is 20 miles away. It has one stoplight, one restaurant, one gas station and one grocery store. Anything else, and you have to travel 90 miles to Great Falls, Bruce said.
As might be expected, Bruce is a farmer, rancher and self-described fair-weather cowboy. According to Bruce, being a cowboy in Montana can be like stepping back in time.
“Some of the ranges I’ve worked with, I put on my boots, my spurs and chaps, take my gun belt off the peg, strap it on and take it off at the end of the night,” said Bruce.
Before his last deployment to Afghanistan, Bruce worked a ranch where he covered more than 1,500 miles on horseback and watched 15,000 head of cattle. Most of the time there is no Internet, no cell phones or any communication at all in the rural landscape of northern Montana.
As with his military career, Bruce isn’t just a cowboy in his civilian life. He also works as a private investigator. Bruce said most of the work involves investigating workers compensation claims for the state of Montana and insurance companies.
Every once in a while, a job will come along that harkens back to Bruce’s cowboy roots, tracking down cattle rustlers. With the price of meat going up, cattle rustling can be a serious problem, said Bruce.
“I have seen where a group of individuals will come in with three semis, set up on a herd of cattle, round them up, shoot them, then use chainsaws to tress them, hang them up and they’re gone. 100 head just gone,” said Bruce. “One of my neighbors lost 100 head of pigs that way.”
His years of service have helped him in the world of private investigations, Bruce said.
“A lot of times I have to use the experience I have in the military to go in to an urban environment to videotape without being seen. Stealth and concealment, blend in,” said Bruce. “If I have to pick up a hunter who’s out hunting, I have to be able to get up the hill side and take photographs with a telephoto lens or get up close.”
Being a rancher and farmer, Bruce has a lot of experience with horses. In his career, he has trained Green Berets to ride and was a member a member of the Marine Corps Equestrian Team, which specializes in drill and ceremony on horseback.
“I love to see that rider become tuned to the horse,” said Bruce. “A horse and rider are a team, just like an ammo-gunner and a machine-gunner are a team.”
With nearly 40 years of service to his country under his belt and cowboy buckle, Bruce had some advice for the next generation of service members.
“They are going to be filling my shoes,” said Bruce. “Take pride in your work. Be patient. Don’t let those beneath you that want to go the wrong path lead you astray,” said Bruce. “Be a mentor.”
| Date Taken: | 07.17.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 07.17.2012 22:39 |
| Story ID: | 91716 |
| Location: | AL, US |
| Hometown: | GREAT FALLS, MT, US |
| Web Views: | 120 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Old school, soldier-cowboy passes on wisdom, by SPC Andrew Orillion, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT