3-15 Infantry prepares for Ukraine mission

YAVORIV, UKRAINE

01.15.2016

Story by Spc. Corey Foreman 

2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

Leaders from 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, conducted a Pre Deployment Site Survey, or PDSS, Jan. 15–18, to acquire more knowledge of the training mission the battalion is slated to assume in February, at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center in Yavoriv, Ukraine.

“Leaders worked to make sure they hit all the right areas of interest they had for the mission making sure they got all the information they needed, such as more knowledge about the area and living conditions for our Soldiers,” said Maj. Joshua Shrader, officer in charge of operations of 3-15 Inf. They took photos of the area and important assets such as the Soldiers’ living arrangements.

The mission of 3-15 Inf. is to support the Joint Multinational Training Group Ukraine in training Soldiers with the Ukrainian Army on defensive combat skills and civil-military operations in conjunction with fundamentals on individual and collective firing and the skills needed to perform during a wartime mission.

“We are going to build friendly nation capacity,” Shrader said. “They are in a pretty good fight, and most of them being trained are right off the front lines.”

Three companies from 3-15 Inf. going are slated to go forward, along with one company from 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd IBCT.

“They will be staying in a hostel,” Shrader said. “It’s like a converted classroom building. There are indoor sinks although they don’t have hot running water. The shower facilities are less than a few hundred meters away along with the latrine facilities being outside.”

“The interpreters we have there are very different than the interpreters we had in Afghanistan,” Shrader said.”They are much more fluent in English and capable of expressing ideas and thoughts and explaining some of the local customs and traditions so it’s a lot more enjoyable to interact.”

“The mission is going to be awesome honestly, it’s going to be a great opportunity for soldiers to get out and experience a different culture with a very relevant mission set,” Shrader said.

“Ukraine is more like the Pacific Northwest, kind of a cooler but still humid climate it and it can get hot in the summer,” Shrader said.

• Date Taken: 01.15.2016
• Date Posted: 02.10.2016 12:27
• Story ID: 188475
• Location: YAVORIV, UA