1434th on duty in Wisconsin

Photo By Sgt. Brian Johnson | Members of the Michigan National Guard's 1434th Engineer Company qualify with their weapons on the firing range at Fort McCoy Wis. The Grayling based unit was activated June 11 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

06.20.2009

Story by Sgt. Brian Johnson 

Michigan National Guard

FORT MCCOY, Wis. -- Over 150 members of the 1434th Engineer Company have begun their pre-deployment training at Fort McCoy, Wis.

The Grayling, Michigan, based National Guard unit was activated June 11 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They began training at their mobilization station in Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, June 14.

With the face of modern warfare changing, the training requirements placed on soldiers have changed before they can be deployed to a combat zone. In a whirlwind first two weeks on duty, the members of the 1434th have had extensive training on equipment and procedures needed to learn skills that they will need to be successful in their mission overseas.

Some of the extensive training that the 1434th soldiers have received have included combat lifesaving, mounted combat patrol operations, urban operations, improvised explosive devices and much more.

Why do all of the briefings and ranges? Unit Commander Capt. Brian Iarossi said, “The Army has gone through great pains to put together a curriculum of training that identifies all the tasks required to keep soldiers safe overseas. The intent of the mobilization training is to identify critical tasks for mission success and then teach them to soldiers on an individual basis. From there, leaders can take their well trained soldiers and build stronger mission ready units.”

Spc. Anthony Librojo of Charlotte said, “I liked the focus on the techniques of all of the training and how it comes together in the big picture. The training received was an eye opening experience by putting a lot of focus on current things going on in Iraq like IEDs and convoy operations. This has really helped to make sure that our mindset is geared toward the mission at hand and will help keep us alive. The training is all stuff that we will be doing or could easily be doing at any given time.”

What’s next for the 1434th at Fort McCoy? Iarossi said, “The 1434th will go through additional mobilization training throughout the month of July into early August. Once we have been certified as fully trained by the Fort McCoy training staff, the unit will move to its duty station in Iraq.”

• Date Taken: 06.20.2009
• Date Posted: 04.20.2015 19:11
• Story ID: 160629
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WI, US
• Hometown: GRAYLING, MI, US