Photo By Staff Sgt. Michael Selvage | Two Soldiers assigned to 2nd Platoon, 563rd Military Police Company, 91st Military...... read more read more
FORT DRUM, N.Y. - The ruck march: An extensive stamina building training exercise used by the American Soldier.
No other professional organization outside of the military requires its personnel to strap a bag that weighs no less than 35 pounds to their back, hands them an assault rifle or machine gun and sends them on their way to walk at a moderately fast pace for a set distance and time requirement.
The brave men and women who serve their country do this because the Army says they have to but also to prove to themselves that they can.
The Soldiers assigned to 2nd Platoon “Devastators,” 563rd Military Police Company, 91st Military Police Battalion, completed a 12-mile ruck through the Fort Drum training area July 17.
Instead of having Soldiers load their rucks and walk around post for 12 miles, the leadership decided to include more realistic training to boost morale for the beginning of the platoon’s training cycle.
“We wanted to make it different from any other ruck march they had done in the past,” said Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Nichols, platoon sergeant originally from Niagara Falls, New York.
At 6 a.m., the Devastators were picked up at Division Hill by a team of CH-47 Chinook helicopters assigned to Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion,10th General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, and were flown out to the training area.
“The helicopter ride was also a reward for the Soldiers because most of them had never flown on a helicopter before,” said Nichols.
The aircraft would have to make two trips to accommodate the 75-Soldier platoon.
“It was completely different from flying in a plane,” said Pvt. Andrew Bush, a first-time flyer and native of Leland, Mississippi. “It was cool; I really liked it.”
The platoon conducted the ruck march as a tactical movement. So instead of letting the Soldiers complete the ruck on their own, they moved as a platoon.
Another added training bonus was the close-air support provided by a team of OH-58D Kiowa helicopters assigned to the 6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 10th CAB. The leadership was able to train on communicating with the pilots throughout the ruck march.
Nichols is fairly new as the Devastators’ platoon sergeant and took this opportunity to assess his platoon firsthand.
He said he used it to see how the team leaders and squad leaders work with their Soldiers and as a team.
From the planning phase to the execution, the operation was a collaborative effort from the platoon leader and the platoon sergeant down to the team leaders. With everyone working together, it was evident it was easy for them to accomplish their mission.
“It’s fantastic to see Soldiers motivating each other,” said 2nd Lt. Nicholas Huether, the platoon leader from Tampa, Florida. “Seeing that gave me a great sense of pride.”
In less than four hours, the platoon finished the ruck march and shortly after, they were air lifted back to Division Hill, and then back to the company area.
“It went flawlessly,” Nichols said with a sense of pride in his voice and a smile gleaming across his face. “The timing was right on from start to finish - our first training exercise as a platoon and couldn’t have gone smoother.”
But Nichols wasn’t the only proud noncommissioned officer in his platoon. Sgt. Mike Wood, a team leader and native of El Campo, Texas, said he couldn’t have asked for a better performance from his Soldiers.
In the end, everyone agreed that none of the great training they received would have been possible without the support from the helicopter crews.
“Helicopters aren’t a tool that the Devastators get chance to utilize all of the time,” said Huether. “Opportunities are always there; you just have to seize them.”
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.23.2015 14:25 |
| Story ID: | 170903 |
| Location: | FORT DRUM, NY, US |
| Hometown: | EL CAMPO, TX, US |
| Hometown: | LELAND, MS, US |
| Hometown: | NIAGARA FALLS, NY, US |
| Hometown: | TAMPA, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 231 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Devastators take advantage of training, by SSG Michael Selvage, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT