Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Foss | Soldiers from 1-71 Cavalry conduct urban breaching techniques Nov. 8 during the...... read more read more
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FORT DRUM, N.Y. - Twenty-two scouts who were team and squad leaders from across 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment took part in Operation Ghost Blast, Nov. 7-9 at Range 50. With instruction by combat engineers from A Company, 1st Brigade Special Troop Battalion, the exercise was designed to provide knowledge on how to employ demolitions, to emplace hasty obstacles and conduct obstacle breaches.
“We are giving them the experience and knowledge of what we do,” said Spc. Dean O’Donnell, a combat engineer with A Company, 1st BSTB.
Scouts participating in Ghost Blast were given reading assignments a week before training to familiarize themselves with demoli- tion theory as well as emplacement.
On Day 1, scouts loaded onto trucks for the 90-minute movement to Range 50, where they were given a range briefing and broken down into groups to begin hands-on training instructed by the combat engineers, led by Staff Sgt. Ray Andrade, A Company, 1st BSTB, Ghost Blast noncommissioned officer in charge.
“It was great training, as we were able to wrap demolition cord around timber with 5, 10 and 15 wraps and see what the effects were,” said Spc. Jared Bowen, a scout assigned to C Troop, 1-71 Cavalry.
The day began with an intensive introduction to demolition and hands-on training with inert training aids and classes on basic demolition theory, timber cutting and breaching techniques.
The first event of Day 2 for the scouts was live demolition training on cutting timber with C4 explosives and demolition cord to construct a hasty obstacle called an “abatis,” which is a line of defense consisting of a barrier of either felled or live trees with branches along a road or movement corridor to prevent mechanized or motorized movement along a route.
After timber cutting, combat engineers instructed and supervised breaching techniques with demolition during the day and at night with the aid of night vision goggles. Scouts learned how to breach doors and walls with four different types of charges: linear, C, water impulse and silhouette.
They also were able to build initiating devices during the training, to ensure each knew how to build, emplace and initiate demolition charges.
On the final day, after learning how to build a “hasty” bangalore torpedo, which is two metal fence pickets sandwiched together with C4 explosive, scouts learned how to breach a wire mine obstacle using the concept of suppression, obscuration, secure, reduce and assault.
The last event was the Scout Demo Stakes, which tested each of the scouts on a practical exercise on the demolition and breaching methods they had learned.
“The final event was modeled after the Sapper Stakes that A Company, 1st BSTB conducted for its own combat engineers,” Andrade said.
Each scout group conducted a patrol and had to react to contact by an opposing force and breach a wire mine obstacle using grappling hooks and demolitions to breach the obstacle.
“This is the first time ever dealing with demolitions,” said Sgt. Jeffry Checki, team leader of C Troop, 1-71 Cavalry.
“I would definitely be game in doing this all the time,” he added. “It’s lots of fun blowing stuff up, as it is not part of everyday training for us.”
| Date Taken: | 11.08.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 10.23.2014 15:32 |
| Story ID: | 145890 |
| Location: | FORT DRUM, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 132 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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