Photo By Master Sgt. Daniel Griego | Members of the Texas Army National Guard's 836th Engineer Company conduct their annual...... read more read more
BASTROP, Texas - Like many other National Guard units, the 6th CBRNE Enhanced Response Force Package specializes in stateside response and disaster recovery. This Defense Support to Civil Authorities mission, however, is in addition to its designated wartime mission as an Army asset. For their annual training in July, the Guardsmen of the 6th CERFP returned to their roots and engaged their wartime mission at Camp Swift in Bastrop, Texas.
Two of the battalion’s units, the 436th Chemical Company and the 836th Engineer Company, traveled from their homestations in Laredo and Kingsville, respectively, for a week of combat-related drills and exercises July 13-19.
“The chemical company does a little bit more than just decon,” said Staff Sgt. Robert Mackey, a platoon sergeant with the 436th Chemical Company. “We also do what’s called a recon mission. We actually go out, we do a route recon so we’re actually checking roads, checking different areas.”
The battalion’s stateside mission focuses on decontamination efforts in environments compromised by chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive contaminants. Overseas, however, they could be called on to provide security, identify hazards, or support convoy operations.
“We’re getting back to the basics of what the Sapper and the engineer mission is doctrinally,” said 1st Lt. William Thompson, a platoon leader with the 836th Engineer Company. “It’s a great experience for these guys. The route clearance mission is just one piece of the security and the mobility that we would provide, given the larger battalion operation that’s going on in the notional area of operations.”
As a National Guard element, the 6th CERFP must split its time between its domestic “white” mission and its traditional Army “green” mission. Most recently, they completed a major milestone in April with a Special Focus Exercise that tested their capabilities as a major component of the FEMA Region VI Homeland Response Force mission. This month, they tested their wartime skills.
“This is an actual heavy equipment chemical unit,” said 1st Sgt. Dianne Overshown, first sergeant for the 436th Chemical Company, which dedicated training time to weapons familiarization on crew-served weapons like the M249 light machine gun, the .50-caliber Browning machine gun, and the M240 machine gun. “These weapons systems are appropriate for our mission, especially our recon platoon. The Soldiers are really excited about what’s going on here.”
While the chemical Soldiers familiarized themselves with their heavy weapons, the engineers trained on their combat skills as Sappers, a term derived from the French word “saper,” to trench or to dig.
“It takes a lot of work because there’s a wide skillset you have to be up to speed on,” said Sgt. Myles Merriweather, a team leader with the 836th Engineer Company. “You have to be able to go from one mission, say you’re clearing a minefield, to now your assaulting objective like breaching a wall. It’s a lot of different aspects of the Army that you have to incorporate into one [job].”
The week’s training placed the Guardsmen in a real-world scenario simulating an overseas deployment, complete with opposition forces, local civilians, and specified mission objectives. The exercise additionally serves as a validating measure to demonstrate to senior leaders that the two companies are trained to standard.
“The end state is that we pass the assessment and get the good word to return to the deployment pool,” said Thompson, “and we should have that by September. It is a validation of the requirements of what would be expected of us as a deployed unit. We have First Army here embedded with us today to actually go out on the missions, make sure we’re following the troop-leading procedures, and basically running to standard a mission that you would expect to see overseas.”
The battalion has a long history of service to the state and nation, fulfilling the requirements of its Homeland Response Force mission since 2011 and maintaining combat readiness with field exercises like this.
“They’re getting a lot out of it,” said Mackey. “They’re really enjoying this.”
| Date Taken: | 07.13.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.17.2015 08:18 |
| Story ID: | 170320 |
| Location: | BASTROP, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 163 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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