Photo By Sgt. Von Marie Donato | Spc. William R. Matteson, an infantryman with B company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry...... read more read more
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MCGREGOR RANGE, N.M. – “Train as you fight” is the Army’s motto in regard to mission readiness. Because Soldiers stationed across the world do not all have training grounds that simulate our most common deployment locations – desert sands, extreme climates and higher elevations are hard to replicate – Fort Bliss is the premier training destination.
Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Georgia, joined with 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, during Bulldog Focus, a brigade-training exercise, at McGregor Range, New Mexico, from Jan. 8 through Jan. 28.
“Our mission is to execute a company live-fire exercise. It’s a combination of all the combat power that a company can bring to an objective,” said Capt. Zachary B. Schaeffer, commander, Company B, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment. “We have to focus on integrating a lot of moving pieces and doing it in a safe and efficient manner.”
The company-sized element was tasked to seize Malakand Village, a notional town, at McGregor Range Jan. 26. The exercise began with an air assault dismount from a CH-47 Chinook, after a mile-long tactical foot movement where they encountered enemy engagement and integrated the use of their weapon systems. Once they reached the notional village, they incorporated their engineer assets to breach a wire obstacle and clear the buildings, and secure and seize them.
“This company live-fire allows us to practice our ‘shoot, move, and communicate’ training method,” said 1st Sgt. Timothy R. Cardinal, senior enlisted leader, Co. B, 3rd Bn., 7th Inf. Regt. “We work on establishing support by fire, allowing our other sections to maneuver forward on an objective. We did great today.”
Sharpening their skills in the expansive Chihuahuan Desert proved to be a real benefit and an eye-opening experience.
“We’ve had to adapt to our environment here at Fort Bliss since we are not very familiar with desert terrain.” Schaeffer said. “At Fort Stewart we have a lot of swamp and woodland terrain. So a lot of our success depends on our ability to communicate and be flexible.”
Schaeffer said he has a lot of junior leaders and having the opportunity to learn and work here, and train in the desert, is a huge benefit.
“This terrain is definitely different from Fort Stewart,” Cardinal said. “This is the closest that some of our guys will come to seeing Afghanistan, unless we actually deploy there. It’s a great opportunity for us to be here.”
Synergy and partnership can mean life or death in combat environments. Learning to work together not only creates a stronger military unit, but also causes missions to be successful.
“Training out here has helped a lot with overall teamwork and group cohesion. Our camaraderie as a unit has increased,” said Spc. William R. Matteson, infantryman, Co. B, 3rd Bn., 7th Inf. Regt. “Being away from home and far out in the desert allows you more time to get to know your fellow Soldiers and teammates.”
Soldiers assigned to 3rd Bn., 7th Inf. Regt., 2nd IBCT, 3rd ID, will join 3rd BCT, 1st AD, Soldiers during an upcoming rotation to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.
| Date Taken: | 01.26.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.09.2016 11:54 |
| Story ID: | 188344 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | FORT STEWART, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 180 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Woods to desert: Fort Stewart infantry train with 1st AD Soldiers, by SGT Von Marie Donato, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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