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FORT DRUM, N.Y. - With a deployment to Iraq looming large on the horizon, soldiers of Task Force 3-17 “Light Horse” stayed focused on intensive training Sept. 11 and 12.
The task force could be called on to perform any number of tasks once in the war zone, soldiers of the 10th Aviation Brigade said, and they are eager to get everything they can from their training – so everyone can come home alive.
“We’re motivated to learn,” said Spc. Cassandra Villezcas. “For me personally, I have two kids. I want to come back to my kids alive.”
Sgt. Paul Senesi, a battle noncommissioned officer with the brigade’s 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, said the task force has adopted the kind of concern Villezcas expressed as its motto: “Bring everyone home alive.”
“The soldiers are motivated to learn and absorb everything they can from this training,” said Senesi, who showed soldiers how to escort and control an enemy prisoner of war (EPW). “We don’t have to get the soldiers to learn the stuff, they’re just absorbing it.”
Faced with the possible task of manning an EPW camp, or inspecting vehicles at a military checkpoint, crossing a minefield, or responding to a suspected nuclear, biological or chemical attack, the task force leadership wants to make sure its soldiers are ready for it all, Senesi said.
Lt. Col. Reginald P. Mason, task force commander, said his team is primed to enter the fight.
“We have trained hard during the 14 months I have been in command, and we are without a doubt combat ready,” Mason said. “The urban operations, combined arms and joint training has honed our skills to a fine edge, and we are ready.”
Confidence in their capabilities has peaked among the soldiers, said Pfc. Andrew Keller, a supply specialist.
“We don’t know if we’re going to be doing our jobs or something like this,” Keller said, referring to the EPW training. “But whatever we have to do, we’ve been trained to do it. The training has been great, giving us more confidence – we can never get enough training.”
Since last spring, Aviation Brigade soldiers – aviators, mechanics, crew chiefs, supply specialists, cooks – have suspected a major deployment was fast approaching. The tempo of training reached a blistering pace by the end of July, when word came that the cavalry, along with other elements of 10th Aviation Brigade, was officially deploying.
About 500 division aviation soldiers, most of them from the cavalry, will make up TF 3-17. The cavalry already has several dozen soldiers deployed to Afghanistan, including the first scout unit in the country to support the global war on terrorism.
| Date Taken: | 10.02.2003 |
| Date Posted: | 01.08.2016 13:27 |
| Story ID: | 185890 |
| Location: | FORT DRUM, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 95 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Task Force ‘Light Horse’ rears up for war, by MAJ Cain Claxton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
