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FRESNO, Calif. – The low hum of dozens of computers filled the room, each work-station manned by Soldiers taking in the flurry of information flashing across the bright screens. Save for the whirring equipment and a few whispered discussions, there was hardly a sound to be heard; but one could not help but feel the sense of urgency possessing the men and women working in the crowded rows of tables bristling with cords and connections.
Just a few words were enough to cause an explosion of activity across the room.
“Troops in contact.”
There are no actual troops in contact. This was a training exercise designed test these officers and enlisted Soldiers in their ability to coordinate and support an entire brigade during a combat operation.
California Army National Guard Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, ran a command post exercise at their armory in Fresno, Calif., April 23-26. These Soldiers will be responsible for coordinating all the brigade’s subordinate units and aircraft in their scheduled deployment to Kuwait later this year. There are many different jobs in the command post, ranging from operational security to coordinating fire support. For Soldiers new to this job, it can be a lot to take in.
“There are so many tasks we have to coordinate, there are specialists in here for things I have never even heard of before,” said 1st Lieutenant Vincent Garcia, the assistant fires officer in HHC. “If you can’t adapt, you’ll never make it.”
The exercise provided valuable practice for the troops before a graded event at Fort Hood, Texas, scheduled for next month. The CAB Soldiers will be required to receive a passing grade at Hood before they can deploy.
Many of the Soldiers involved have previous deployment experience from the CAB’s deployment to Iraq in 2010. These more experienced troops helped the newer Soldiers learn on the fly throughout the training run. Regardless of past experience, all of the involved Soldiers share the same goal – to be as prepared as humanly possible for the upcoming deployment.
“Everyone is taking the training really well,” said Sergeant Jason Frost, the on-duty battle noncommissioned officer (equivalent to a shift supervisor). “Exercises like this help show where our strengths are, and where we could use improvement.”
| Date Taken: | 04.26.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.07.2015 03:38 |
| Story ID: | 165770 |
| Location: | FRESNO, CA, US |
| Hometown: | FRESNO, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 89 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, 40th CAB leaders and Soldiers train to command the fight, by SSG Ian Kummer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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