Photo By Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke | I Corps serves as the high command during Warfighter Exercise 15-04 at the Mission...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — I Corps has made it their mission to continue strong and enduring partnerships with allies in the Pacific region, and that commitment has demanded a high state of expeditionary readiness from I Corps’ Soldiers.
I Corps has made it their mission to continue strong and enduring partnerships with allies in the Pacific region, and that commitment has demanded a high state of expeditionary readiness from I Corps’ Soldiers.
To meet these goals, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, I Corps has participated in training exercises throughout the Pacific region and, most recently, in Warfighter Exercise 15-04 at the Mission Training Complex here April 7-15.
Warfighters are multi-echelon, training exercises that integrate the Army’s active and reserve components, and HHB Soldiers took this opportunity to increase their proficiency and readiness alongside their Reserve and National Guard counterparts.
“Everything we [are doing during Warfighter] mirrors what we do downrange,” said Capt. Christopher Conner, an operations officer in HHB, I Corps. “This is the exact same equipment we would load on a C-17.”
With I Corps regionally aligned with the Pacific, Conner said HHB is trained and ready to rapidly deploy to support future I Corps missions.
“It’s very stressful to maintain that constant state of readiness while you’re balancing your garrison environment, but it’s very effective training at the same time, because it forces you to step outside of your comfort zone and accomplish the mission no matter what,” said Conner.
Soldiers of HHB provided logistical and medical support to the participating National Guard and Reserve units, providing them with meals, fuel, maintenance support, and handling the real-life needs of Soldiers.
“We’re supporting the Warfighter Exercise by maintaining aid station operations,” said Spc. Raymond Trader, a health care specialist in Headquarters Support Company, HHB, I Corps. “If injuries arise, we’re the first line of care that Soldiers are going to get.”
Spc. Grace Barreto, an information technology specialist in HSC, spent the exercise performing her duties as if she were forward-deployed. As a computer and network expert, Barreto ensured HHB’s IT equipment and communications were constantly operational in the battalion’s tactical operations center.
“When I’m deployed, that’s what I have to do,” said Barreto. “If your computer goes down, I’m the one who has to figure out why and how I can fix it.”
Conner said that establishing and maintaining communications was crucial during the exercise and that the units acted as if they were miles apart, exactly as they would be in a deployed environment.
I Corps Soldiers are scheduled to participate in Talisman Saber, a multinational joint-exercise in Australia this summer. They will train alongside Australian forces to certify for joint-operational readiness. Like Warfighter, Talisman Saber will see I Corps Soldiers performing operations as they would when deployed.
“If you don’t train how you fight,” said Conner, “you fail when you fight.”
| Date Taken: | 04.20.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.20.2015 17:07 |
| Story ID: | 160609 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 98 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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