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    Cav unit masters shoot house skills while away from home

    Cavalry unit masters shoot house skills while away from home

    Courtesy Photo | A team of Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade...... read more read more

    CAMP SHELBY, MS, UNITED STATES

    08.18.2015

    Story by Sgt. Brandon Banzhaf 

    3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

    CAMP SHELBY, Miss. - Medics tested each other’s knowledge of casualty care and infantrymen lined up against shoot house walls awaiting the signal to kick in a door.

    Cleverly concealed in any field of overgrown grass, there might be a sniper testing the effectiveness of his camouflage – all taking place during the Exportable Combat Training Capability exercise here.

    Miles away from the comfort of their everyday lives, Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division trained on basic combat skills and tactics alongside their partner unit, the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team of the Mississippi Army National Guard.

    “Along with the XCTC, my goal for the battalion was to deploy, train on all [reception, staging, onward movement and integration] operations, as well as train on the individual and platoon level tasks,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Alfieri, commander of 1-12 Cav. “Because of the systems we put in place, it enables our Soldiers to maintain a high training tempo.”

    The battalion is acting as a subordinate unit to the 155th ABCT during the multicomponent training exercise.
    When there were breaks in the training schedule, the companies took advantage of the opportunity to increase their Soldiers’ proficiency on their individual tasks.

    They conducted situational training exercises and ranges, and honed their skills in warrior tasks and battle drills.
    “My medical platoon is providing real-world medical support, and then also participating in training [medical evacuation] missions, getting Soldiers from where they were injured on the battlefield to higher levels of care,” said Capt. Drew Mumford, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-12 Cav. “The scout and mortar platoons are participating in squad and team level [opposing force] exercises to help train both us and the 155th Brigade.”

    Although the Soldiers were away from home and everything familiar, they used the new experience to their advantage and said they got good training value out of their time in Mississippi.

    “It’s really great training; it’s a great opportunity for Soldiers from Fort Hood - especially in the environment we’ve been in,” said Spc. Carter Matthew, a radio telephone operator and Turlock, California, native. “We have been doing lanes for situations like reacting to contact and ambushes.”

    With all of the additional training and exercises, some challenges surfaced that could have negatively impacted the battle rhythm. But with situational awareness and contingency plans in place, the unit was able to identify roadblocks and mitigate them, resulting in only slight bumps in the road.

    “The environment here during the summer is very challenging with the average heat index of 108 degrees,” said Alfieri. “Due to the constant leader presence and oversight of our Soldiers, we were able to mitigate any heat related injuries.”

    By guaranteeing the availability of water and requiring Soldiers to perform their most physically challenging tasks before and after the hottest times of the day, the unit avoided heat casualties.

    With the battalion working with their partner unit and continuously drilling Soldier skills, both the 1-12 Cav. and the 155th benefited from the training opportunity, said Alfeiri.

    “The partnership extended well beyond [the command teams of both units],” said Alfeiri. “At every echelon, you can see a partnering taking place and because of that, the partnership will last well beyond XCTC through the [Multi-Echelon Integrated Brigade Training Exercise] next June at Fort Hood.”

    The partnered units are completing one training exercise after another, eventually culminating in a rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.

    “We were very fortunate for the opportunity to participate in XCTC,” said Alfeiri. “It was mutually beneficial for my battalion, and also the 155th. We have transitioned from a partially trained to a fully capable, mission ready unit.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 08.18.2015
    Date Posted: 08.18.2015 13:26
    Story ID: 173486
    Location: CAMP SHELBY, MS, US
    Hometown: FREDERICKSBURG, VA, US

    Web Views: 94
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN