Stryker Soldiers train to rescue downed aircraft

Photo By 1st Sgt. Justin A. Naylor | U.S. Army Spc. Andrew Morales (left), a San Angelo, Texas, native and medic with 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, checks a simulated casualty for wounds during training at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Jan. 26, 2015. This training was an opportunity for leaders to showcase their skills while working to rescue a simulated downed pilot.  

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, UNITED STATES

02.02.2015

Story by Staff Sgt. Justin A. Naylor 

1-2 SBCT, 7th Infantry Division

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – Few things get a Soldier’s heart racing like hearing about a downed aircraft.

In combat situations, it’s often up to the closest unit to quickly recover the aircraft and crew members regardless of the dangers in the area.

For Soldiers with 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team this was the scenario they faced during training at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, Jan. 26.

The Soldiers who took part had spent the better portion of a week in the field when they received the mission to find and save a pilot whose helicopter was downed by enemy fire.

The Soldiers quickly mounted their Stryker combat vehicles, and with limited time, found a route and built a plan.

Although the training was designed to improve their ability to do this task in a real-world scenario, it was also a test of their willpower after long days of training.

“The things we are evaluating are their dismounted movement techniques and formations, we are evaluating their principles of patrolling, and finally and most importantly the things we are evaluating are their physical, mental and emotional resilience,” said Capt. Thomas Meyer, an Ellicott City, Maryland, native, and assistant operations officer with 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3-2 SBCT.

This training was the last event of nearly a week of training that included establishing defense areas, attacking an objective, conducting an air assaults and a number of other tasks, Meyer explained.

Although there were several different events, they revolved around a few key principles.

“The biggest thing is just finding how the platoons are integrating their Stryker tactics and techniques and their dismount tactics and techniques and integrating those two forces together to be as lethal as they can on the battlefield,” Meyer said.

A primary beneficiary of this training were the medics assigned to aid the infantry platoons. During the pilot recovery training, these medics were tasked with providing life-saving procedures at the scene of the crash.

“The more I can do out there for the casualty, the better chance he has of survival,” said Spc. Andrew Morales, a San Angelo, Texas, native, and medic with 5th Bn., 20 Inf. Regt.

Although Morales has been a medic for a number of years, he said it’s been a while since he took part in training like this.

“It’s a perishable skill, so you tend to lose certain things and you lose your train of thought and your steps some times,” Morales said.

For him, this training helped identify areas for improvement.

“It put some things into perspective that I need to work on for the next training exercise,” he said.

Morales and his fellow Soldiers with 5th Bn., 20th Inf. Regt., will continue to train in the coming months as they prepare for a monthlong rotation to the National Training Center, California, this summer.

• Date Taken: 02.02.2015
• Date Posted: 02.02.2015 14:50
• Story ID: 153304
• Location: JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US
• Hometown: ELLICOTT CITY, MD, US
• Hometown: SAN ANGELO, TX, US