Service members from four civil affairs teams went through the Engagement Skills Trainer 2000 at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, Oct.16. The training was a necessary part in getting ready for their next mission in Iraq. The EST 2000 provides vital training to units going through the Third Army/U.S. Army Central area of operations in Kuwait training prior to movement to theaters in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Capt. Raquel Rangel, team leader for A Company, 448th Civil Affairs Battalion, said going through the EST has many benefits for those who prepare for combat zones. First, it gives service members scenarios that they might eventually face during their tour. Secondly, force protection is a main priority.
"I am a team leader of four and we will be going out to villages to conduct meetings and negotiations," Rangel said. "What we went through in there are things that are real and could possibly happen."
Jeff Cornelius, trainer facilitator of the EST 2000, said the training provides service members marksmanship, collective and judgemental training. A big part of the training is making decisions such as the decision whether or not to shoot. Cornelius said it may look tough, but the EST is not.
"It's about Soldiers knowing their escalation of force procedures and their unit's rules of engagement," Cornelius said "If they know them, and make the call, then they'll know whether or not to pull the trigger.
"The EST is very important because it presents shoot-don't shoot situations to the service members that they might encounter up north," Cornelius added. "It gives them the ability to make that call in their escalation of force procedures."
Back in the EST, the team is now on patrol when they are engaged in a marketplace by insurgents. The team successfully repels the first attack. The civilians then come out of their houses to check the bodies on the street. The people look to the team, all of a sudden several insurgents come out from behind a corner and commence firing upon the team. The team must decide what to do next—quickly. Return fire with the civilians caught in the middle or wait for the team to be picked off one-by-one.
Sgt. Joel Castillo, A Co., 448th Civil Affairs Battalion, said the training is a lot different compared to his previous deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom I with the 204th Military Police Company. Now on his second OIF tour, his first in civil affairs, he said the training is just what is needed to get service members ready for what lies ahead in Iraq.
"It actually puts you in a scenario-based situation with real-looking role players," Castillo said. "With things blowing up around you, you have to make a decision whether to shoot or not."
Although Col. Mark McLaughlin, 360th Civil Affairs Brigade deputy commanding officer, has gone through an EST for the purpose of preparing for weapons qualification, this was the first time he had gone through an EST to train for real-world scenarios.
"This was very interactive and it's very, very valuable because it presents you with a number of scenarios that hit you from more than one source," he said. "You have to practice your sectors of fire, listening to your team leader and communicate amongst yourselves to ensure that you defend yourself and don't accidentally kill innocent civilians."
McLaughlin said the role of civil affairs teams is not to inflict damage. He said they are a "non-lethal weapons system." After the aggressing force has been pushed out of a town, civil affairs teams go to work.
"We go back and negotiate, issue payments or work with the local leadership, town council and mayors in Iraq to help legitimize them in the eyes of their people," McLaughlin said.
Castillo said once initial contact has been made the real work begins. The teams work to reconstruct the town and rebuild the infrastructure. Over the course of time, the Iraqis are able to stand and function on their own.
"Doing that means we can get out of there quicker. Once they build their own, secure their own, take care of their own, I work myself out of a job," Castillo said with a smile.
Castillo said while working on their civil affairs mission, the teams may come in contact with insurgent activity. Then, they stop being civil affairs personnel.
"Every Soldier has to understand that no matter if you're civil affairs, a mechanic, or such, you might find yourself out on the street and you have to have those basic Soldier skills," Castillo said. "You can always be a person on the FOB (Forward Operating Base). Then, the next minute, you find yourself on a gate or a guard tower and get lit up. You have to know those basic Soldier skills."
The team now stands watch at a checkpoint when an IED goes off. Another team comes running by carrying wounded. An insurgent comes around a corner with a weapon spraying bullets.
H
e is quickly dealt with, but then another man with a weapon charges the group. As the team focuses on him, a third man comes around the corner, hoists a weapon on his shoulder and prepares to fire. A team member sees him and unleashes a flurry of rounds into the insurgent, but he is too late. The rocket-propelled grenade has been fired. The simulation ends.
McLaughlin said the goal of the training is to make sure this does not happen in real life.
"There's two ways to learn things. There's the easy way and the hard way. I've always preferred the easy way. The fewer things you have to learn downrange or in the box, the safer you will be," he said. "(Soldiers) understand that if something like this happens, I've already been through something like this. I know what to do and where I'm supposed to be and how to fire my weapon to defend myself."
| Date Taken: |
10.21.2007 |
| Date Posted: |
10.21.2007 07:39 |
| Story ID: |
13141 |
| Location: |
KW |
| Web Views: |
85 |
| Downloads: |
46 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Civil Affairs units get dose of reality through virtual reality, by SGT Wesley Landrum, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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