Courtesy Photo | Army Reserve Soldiers with 1-334 Training Support Battalion, 104th Training Division,...... read more read more
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FORT KNOX, Ky. - The once-green expanse of rolling hills, trimmed to the Command Sgt. Major’s 2-inch standard, has seen better days. For decades, platoons of Soldiers firing small arms weapons and batteries of tanks and howitzers firing their main guns did so on Fort Knox’s perfectly-maintained grounds, as wave after wave of training brigades cycled through the iconic Army post.
Enter sequester.
By July 2014, Fort Knox saw a reduction in its total workforce from more than 21,000 Soldiers and civilians to just under 18,000. In fiscal year 2016, the Army estimates the reduction of another $14.5 million to the Fort Knox maintenance budget alone.
Despite those reductions and conditions, maintaining a trained and ready force is a continued priority for the Army – and the mission of the Soldiers of the 1/334 Training Support Battalion, 104th Training Division (LT), out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The 1/334 travelled to Fort Knox, Kentucky to train cadets at the Cadet Summer Training on the hand grenade assault course.
Simple enough.
They came up with a plan, selected their instructors, and rehearsed until they had it down to a science. Part of the value Citizen Soldiers bring to the force and to the fight, is the civilian acquired expertise gained across business, industry and academia. They are Soldiers; but they are doctors, lawyers, and even carpenters as well. They bring their unique skill set with them to the battlefield, wherever it may be.
“We were told we had to go out and set up the range. To me that means maybe setting up a tactical operations center and placing a few targets,” said Master Sgt. Reginald Gilliam, range noncommissioned officer in charge.
When they got out there, they realized ‘setting up a range’ had a totally different connotation.
“There was rotten wood on the wire obstacles. The grass was so high that it came up just below your knees and you couldn’t even see the targets the cadets were supposed to be aiming for. The whole thing was in shambles,” Gilliam said. “It’s just not something we had anticipated.”
The instructors had only three days until the first of approximately 4,000 began rotating through a neglected range and virtually no resources available to them.
Cue Staff Sgt., David Smith, an instructor with the unit since 2006, who just happens to be a general construction contractor as well.
“I have never seen anything like this,” Smith said.
“The weeds were so high that we had to tie the wire obstacles up with engineer tape just so we could mow under them.”
Luckily, Smith never leaves home without his tools.
“I had my saws and drills with me,” said Smith. “Cadet Command authorized us to buy new lumber, we pitched in to get some screws and nails from Home Depot and went to work.”
They located a lawn mower and weed-eater locked up in the range shed and managed to get some fuel from DPW. They quickly cleared the tall grass away and went to work on the obstacles.
“It’s kind of funny, the program of instruction they gave us said we were supposed to teach the cadets how to get over low and high wall obstacles, but there were no walls to show them how to do it. So we ended up building those as well.”
In the end, the unit was able to open the range and provide professional training to the cadets without missing a beat.
“We finished just in the nick of time. If it weren’t for Staff Sgt. Smith we might still be out there. But I give credit to everyone in this unit who worked especially hard to bring this range back to life,” Gilliam said. “Morale was high. No one complained. They just pulled together and went to work. I even had Soldiers on their hands and knees pulling weeds. This group went above and beyond what was expected and they’re the best group of guys and gals I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”
It was Smith who gave the final assessment.
“We’re about 75 percent complete, but we still have work to do. Oh well, you know what they say … it’s not just a job, it’s an adventure,” he said with a laugh.
| Date Taken: | 06.23.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.23.2015 18:16 |
| Story ID: | 167864 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KY, US |
| Hometown: | MILWAUKEE, WI, US |
| Web Views: | 374 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Reserve instructors breathe new life into Fort Knox range, by MSG Brian Hamilton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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