Photo By Sgt. Brian Johnson | Members of the community participated recently in a paintball exercise with the 1st...... read more read more
HILLSBORO, Ohio - Members of 1st platoon of Company A, 216th Engineer Battalion, based in Chillicothe did some unique training during their May Guard Drill weekend weekend. Unit members did individual tactical movement training on a farm near Hillsboro. The tactical training was reinforced through the use of simulated sight and tactile stimulation in that each soldier was armed with a paintball weapon.
Sgt. Scott Carrozza Jr., from Hillsboro, hosted the platoon training at his property. Carrozza opted to use his property because, “I have the facilities that would be able to handle everybody and it was a great spot to facilitate the training.” Carrozza continued, “It took 2 weeks to set everything up along the property. We established a system of bunkers and hiding spots over a few acres to allow soldiers to be entrenched. I feel the results were good.”
Carrozza’s Platoon Leader, 2nd Lt. Travis Ressler of Dublin, said of the exercise, “This was great. It helped reinforce the foundations of individual tactical movement by teaching the soldiers the understanding of concealment and the need to take cover. The paintballs made everything realistic. The platoon members were a taught basic teamwork skills and our younger soldiers were able practice their leadership skills through different scenarios. Overall, this was very good quality training.”
Staff Sgt. Matthew Halley of Gallipolis felt the training was, “extremely realistic, even better than using the military’s Miles gear [laser sensor equipment]. The paint balls let you know that you’re being hit and helps you realize that you need to take cover when you hear them whizzing past.”
Spc. Shelton Beasley of Columbus thought, “this was awesome. I’ve been in the military for three years and this training accentuates teamwork and increased the morale of the platoon by allowing us to bond and make the platoon more of a family.”
Carrozza said, “What really made the weekend special was that we were able to have the Highland County honor guard participate by conducting opening and closing ceremonies. It took two months of coordination to be able to make sure that we were able to bring them here.” Carrozza continued, “We wanted to invite the community to attend this event and I felt it was a good opportunity for the community members to interact with the members of the unit. I work in the local area and am questioned all the time about being in the guard. People always ask me what I do, now they can watch.”
Both Ressler and Carrozza felt that they had great community interaction. When asked if he would host an event like this in the future, Carrozza said, “I would love to invite everyone out again.”
Gaul City Paintball, in Vinton, Ohio, helped supply Company A with the paintball, guns and safety equipment needed for the exercise.
| Date Taken: | 06.03.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 04.06.2015 14:56 |
| Story ID: | 159214 |
| Location: | HILLSBORO, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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