Courtesy Photo | Soldiers from New Hampshire National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 197th Field Artillery...... read more read more
By Capt. John A. Brimley
Mobilization Training Center Bliss Public Affairs
FORT BLISS, Texas — After seven months of planning and training, a Division West field artillery unit completed its final phase of transformation to a training support battalion.
“It’s been a remarkable seven months,” said Lt. Col. Cobb Laslie, commander of 2nd Battalion, 362nd Field Artillery Regiment, 402nd Field Artillery Brigade, Division West, as he reflected back to when he received the mission in July 2014.
The transformation was conducted in two phases. Phase One included the support of the 1st Armored Division artillery during Exercise Iron Strike, and Phase Two with the Mission Readiness Exercise for New Hampshire National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 197th Field Artillery Regiment.
“We have a lot of experience in the battalion, but we had never done this before,” said Laslie. “We didn’t know what we didn’t know.”
The 2-362nd carried this training mission from the initial joint assessment more than a year ago. While they prepared and coordinated for the training plan for the 3-197th, they also were in the midst of their own transformation.
They were venturing into unknown territory.
The unit previously operated as a Plans, Exercise Movement Control battalion, which served as the initial contact for training units going to Fort Bliss for post mobilization, and also functioned as the battalion that provided long-range planning for those units.
However, this time they were the executors of the long-range training plan that they once planned for other units to execute.
“Not only was this a great opportunity for us to run ourselves through the exercise, but also helping the brigade establish some start points for additional standards to be developed,” said Laslie.
This operation was different from the traditional way the 402nd and 5th Armored Brigade typically prepare and train units. The 2-362nd led the way for how the 5th AR plans to operate in the future.
“We knew that in order to give this HIMARS battalion from New Hampshire a true workout, we weren’t going to be able go on the cheap,” said Laslie.
There were not many stones Laslie and his team left unturned in preparation for their first CTE as observer coach/trainers. He sought resources far and wide to complement the robust training plan the unit built in anticipation of the 3-197’s arrival.
“The only thing we let ourselves be limited by was our ability to coordinate and plan,” he said.
In Laslie’s mind, he wanted to give the unit as realistic a training plan and MRX as possible, so he reached out to the Air Force Air National Guard and U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. The D-Battery, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, located in El Paso, Texas, which is one of the few High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) batteries in the Marine Corps, provided a partnership with the National Guard unit similar to the relationship they will cultivate during their deployment.
“The Marines were able to replicate future engagement techniques, tactics and practices with their host nation partnership military force,” said Capt. DeCarlos Ware, observer coach/trainer for 2-362nd.
The Air Guard provided air transportation via C-17 aircraft for the 3-197th during their MRX, which also gave them an opportunity to forge relationships across services.
“The C-17 training with the Air Force gave the Soldiers and command teams confidence and assurance that they could load, unload and deliver long range munitions during decisive operations,” said Ware.
“All of our external support in terms of the other services was great,” said Laslie.
The transition and transformation turned out to be an exercise of the Army Total Force Policy, which integrates the Army's active and reserve components and represents the realization of the Total Force Concept.
“This was truly a total force exercise,” Laslie said. “We used the Army Reserve Soldiers from our other task forces. Obviously, we’re an active duty battalion and we trained a National Guard battalion.”
In the big picture, the 2-362nd’s transformation is a part of Operation Bold Shift, which restructures the First Army assets to better provide pre-and post-mobilization to meet Reserve Component and National Guard unit readiness.
“There are a lot of other task forces who have been doing this a lot longer than us, but we have the opportunity to come in and do things with a fresh perspective with a lot of latitude to establish things for what I think is Col. (Jay) Gallivan’s vision,” Laslie said.
The 402nd and 5th Armored officially merged with a 5th Armored Brigade change of command ceremony, June 10, as part of Operation Bold Shift.
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2015 20:40 |
| Story ID: | 166906 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 89 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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