4-9 CAV endures the elements at Twin Bridges

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class John Healy | Cavalry Scouts recover casualties in their Bradley Fighting Vehicle after encountering an ambush from the nearby hillside during a training exercise at Twin Bridges training area, South Korea, Dec. 8, 2015.(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. John Healy, 2ABCT, 1CAV)  

CAMP CASEY, SOUTH KOREA

12.16.2015

Story by Staff Sgt. John Healy 

2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

CAMP CASEY, South Korea - Two years ago, Spc. Dusheun Saine left his home in sunbaked Arizona to join the Army. After attending advanced individual training to become a cavalry scout, Saine was sent to Fort Hood, deep in the heart of Texas, to be a member of the 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

“Now I’m here in Korea freezing like a popsicle,” said Saine.

Six months after arriving in South Korea as part of the first rotational brigade to deploy to the peninsula, Saine and the rest of his squad find themselves perched on a wooded hillside overlooking a deserted three-way intersection tucked in the back corner of the expansive Twin Bridges training area.

“I’m cold. I’m shaking a little bit,” said Saine. “It’s good training.”

“We’ve never done training in the cold. We’ve never had to sit on an OP for six hours in the cold,” said Saine. “You never know if you’ll ever be in a situation like this and you have no choice but to be out here, granted your condition and your health.”

Over the past week, the scouts have taken turns assaulting and defending Twin Bridges. One group climbs through the mountains finding the best positions to observe and attack the enemy while the other group does their best to push through their defenses.

There is a deliberate emphasis on using the terrain to your advantage said Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Ochsner, the senior non-commissioned officer of 4-9 CAV.

“This is the terrain you’re going to fight in in Korea,” sad Ochsner. “This very valley right here, we could fight in this valley.”

The exercise is being conducted alongside the Republic of Korea Army’s mechanized infantry.

“The key thing we’ve done here is we’ve figured out how to talk to and coordinate with the ROK Army,” said Ochsner. “As far as the junior Soldiers go one of the best things right now is the fact that it rained on us yesterday, its cold out here today.”

“This weather sucks but you still have to sit out on an observation post,” said Ochsner. “It takes discipline to just sit in your OP and wait, and patience. That’s what being a scout’s about.”

Today, the scouts have set up an ambush. Land mines and concertina wire are strung up just over the crest of the hill, out of sight for any approaching vehicles. In the woods on either side Soldiers lay waiting, armed with the rifles, M249 squad automatic weapons, and Javelin missiles.

“We’re going to pop smoke and fire from both sides of this fatal funnel,” said Pfc. Shamir King, a cavalry scout from Albany, New York. “They have no choice but to go through.”

After six hours of lying on the cold hard ground, a Bradley Fighting Vehicle begins to rumble around the corner. The Soldiers wait as the vehicle draws closer, holding fire until the last possible moment.

The Bradley halts. They’ve spotted the obstacles. The signal is given, and the Soldiers open fire from their concealed positions, targeting the dismounted Soldiers on the road while Saine zeros in on the Bradley with a Javelin missile.

After neutralizing the enemy, the scouts quickly begin preparations to move to a new location.

“You don’t want to stay in one position for too long,” said Saine. “If we get detected, we can’t pull surveillance and reconnaissance for everyone back in the rear waiting to figure out which way we can go, how many enemy are in the area, are the roads slick or can they cave in, we have to do all that.”

• Date Taken: 12.16.2015
• Date Posted: 12.20.2015 11:16
• Story ID: 185007
• Location: CAMP CASEY, KR