3rd Brigade Combat Team paratroopers execute Operation Panther Gold

Photo By Maj. Fred Hair | Paratroopers with Company B, 1st Battalion, 505th PIR, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division clearing one of the numerous complex structures during their air assault mission on an mock village. The mission of the Company B paratroopers was to locate and kill or capture a high-value individual, who was suspected of being in the vicinity. (Photo by Maj. Fred H. Hair, 3rd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division PAO)  

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, FL, UNITED STATES

07.25.2014

Story by Maj. Fred Hair 

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division

EGLIN AFB, Fla. – The 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division executed an Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise (EDRE) July 14-18, that culminated with the unit jumping into Eglin Air Force Base, and conducting air assault missions.

The purpose of the exercise was to rehearse and evaluate the 3rd BCT’s ability to deploy on short notice as part of the 82nd ABN DIV’s Global Response Force.

The scope of the exercise was to have a battalion go through the entire process of being alerted, going through the outload stations on Pope Army Airfield, Fort Bragg, deploy to a distant location, and jump into and seize an airfield. Once the battalion was on the ground at their objective, they were to locate American civilians and execute a non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO) and locate and secure a suspected chemical/biological weapons (CBW) facility.

“While Division-run battalion level EDREs were common a decade or more ago in our division and other rapidly deployable formations, they've rightly taken a back seat to our focus on winning the current fight in Afghanistan and Iraq,” said Lt. Col. Jacob Larkowich, battalion commander of 1-505. “As our Army has reduced its presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Division has slowly regenerated the systems we use to build and test readiness across the organization.”

The 1-505 was alerted at 9 a.m. on July 14 and immediately moved into a deployment preparation timeline. Approximately 48 hours later, elements of the battalion began to cycle through the outload process of having ammunition issued to troopers, heavy pallets loaded onto aircraft, and jumpmasters inspecting the parachute harnesses of all manifested jumpers.

At 11 p.m. July 16, the battalion commenced with the airfield seizure portion of the exercise, jumping into Camp Rudder. After working to quickly assemble, the 1-505th paratroopers moved to complete their mission objectives.

The first mission was to secure the airfield itself, followed by locating and securing the American Embassy and evacuating the non-essential personnel. During the course of the day, the paratroopers conducted multiple air assault missions to seize and secure the suspected CBW facility and against a mock village to locate a high value individual suspected to be in the vicinity.

An additional challenge faced by the battalion was the fact that there had recently been a high turnover rate of both troopers and leaders, to include the battalion commander. “The trooper's ability to execute rapid seizure of an FLS as a battalion is impressive in and of its own right, but doing so with the amount of leader turnover we've had is a true credit to the proficiency and professionalism of our junior leaders - particularly the specialists, corporals and sergeants who lead our fire teams,” added Larkowich.

In addition to the main mission, 3BCT fire support team specialist (FiSTers) executed additional training events during their stay at Camp Rudder. Simulators were used to train on call for fire. Also, the FiSTers had the unique opportunity to perform night iterations of live call for fire lines with AC-130U gunships. They were able to direct live fire onto targets using the onboard 25 mm GAU-12 Equalizer, Bofors 40 mm autocannon, and 105 mm M102 howitzer.

“It was an awesome opportunity and something we will probably not get to do again,” said Capt. Andrew Lincoln, FiSTer officer-in-charge of experience of training with the AC-130 gunships.

“The 1-505th troopers performed exceptionally well,” said Larkowich.

Larkowich went on to explain that it was one of the most expansive EDRE that has been conducted in years and that it contributed immeasurably to both the battalion’s readiness and to the readiness of all the other organizations that support unit outloads, a function that was accomplished by units in the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st BCT.

• Date Taken: 07.25.2014
• Date Posted: 07.25.2014 12:35
• Story ID: 137303
• Location: EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, FL, US