High OPTEMPO defines CSM Bolmer's tour with 1-4 Infantry

Photo By 1st Lt. Brianne Roudebush | U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Robin Bolmer of 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment (Opposing Forces) seen here at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, Jan. 27, 2016, said the 1-4 Infantry's OPFOR mission has one of the highest operational tempos he has ever experienced. The 1-4 Infantry is OPFOR for Exercise Allied Spirit IV, which includes more than 2,400 participants from seven NATO nations and exercises tactical operability and tests secure communications with Alliance members and partner nations.  

HOHENFELS, BY, GERMANY

01.27.2016

Story by Capt. Jason Sweeney 

California National Guard Primary   

HOHENFELS, Germany - As Command Sgt. Maj. Robin Bolmer wraps up his tour with 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, he states the one word that comes to mind: "busy."

"The pride and esprit de corps is one of the highest of any unit I've been in," Bolmer said of the 1st Bn., 4th Infantry, "but it's also one of the busiest units. I've been in the Army 22 years, and I will say this is the busiest I've ever been."

Bolmer's unit serves as the opposing forces (OPFOR) element for U.S. Army Europe's Joint Multinational Readiness Center, here. Rotational Training Units cycle through Hohenfels year round to train and face off with the "World Class OPFOR," as unit members refer to it.

As the highest-ranking enlisted Soldier in 1-4 Infantry, Bolmer serves as the senior enlisted adviser to his commander. Lt. Col. Matthew Archambault, who took command of the battalion in July, credits Bolmer for a seamless transition.

"The biggest thing that any commander wants when he comes into his battalion command is that rock that he can turn to and lean on, which is the command sergeant major," Archambault said. "And that's what Sgt. Major Bolmer has been. He's a fountain of knowledge and experience. He lives the NCO (noncommissioned officer) Creed."

The OPFOR in Hohenfels has been providing realistic, tactical training in a multinational environment since 1990. The Soldiers of the 1-4, sometimes referred to as "the men in black" for the black uniforms they wear, simulate everything from conventional force engagements to guerilla warfare to chemical attacks throughout the terrain of "The Box," a 40,000-acre training area that has been described as one of the U.S. Army's most diverse and challenging.

Staff Sgt. Robert Carter, who serves as the battle non-commissioned officer for the 1-4 Infantry, said Bolmer has a gift for speaking in front of the troops and is skilled at keeping them motivated and performing the mission.

"He knows every Soldier's first, middle and last name, and even their birthdays," Carter said. "He has a memory like that."

In January and February of 2016, the infantrymen of 1-4 were the OPFOR for exercise Allied Spirit IV, taking on a multinational force of more than 2,400 troops from seven nations, led by Italy's Garibaldi Brigade. This exercise rotation had international implications, serving as a means to increase interoperability between participating nations. Allied Spirit IV is one of 11 rotations over the past 12 months in which 1-4 has played OPFOR.

"We do the decisive action training environment-types of rotations like we're doing now, here, at Allied Spirit," Bolmer said. "We've done KFOR (Kosovo Forces) rotations where we play civilians and do riot control training. We've done Georgian rotations where we prepare the Georgians to go to Afghanistan to do their mission over there. We do rotations for Sandhurst cadets out of the United Kingdom.

There have been rotations where we've had Soldiers out in combat vehicles drive back to a certain area, park the combat vehicles, change out of the black uniform, throw civilian clothes on and go play displaced civilians on the battlefield that are being hauled off," he said.

In the next two months, the 1-4 will do four training rotations. The high operations tempo is par for the course.

"We are nonstop go," Bolmer said. "Soldiers are going to be challenged here. They can expect to see things they haven't seen before from different perspectives, from a civilian on the battlefield perspective, from an insurgent perspective, from a regular Soldier perspective.

I like to say I think they can expect to have fun, because it's fun doing what we do," he said. "Sometimes it's not the best conditions. It's cold. You're tired. You do it a lot. It gets repetitive after a while. But you join the Army as a combat Soldier to do that type of stuff, to go in the field and fight somebody and shoot. When you get to do that, it's good."

Bolmer added that the unit also does its best to give its Soldiers downtime with their families between rotations and a chance to travel while in Germany.

"I love Germany," he said. "Hohenfels is a tight community. It's a small post, but it's a great place to be."

One of Bolmer's proudest accomplishments with his unit was seeing so many of his troops earn the Expert Infantry Badge. Sixty-five Soldiers from the 1-4 earned an EIB in 2014 and another 56 in 2015, which is a big jump from previous years.

"We get off a rotation, they go right into EIB and then right back into a rotation," he said. "They have to do a lot of studying, a lot of preparation. I'm proud that our Soldiers were able to do that. It goes right back to them being proud that they're infantrymen and also being proud to be in the unit."

In addition, seven of the unit's medics earned the Expert Field Medical Badge in the last two years.

Bolmer, a tanker, served three combat tours in Iraq, two in Afghanistan and deployed to Kosovo. His time with the 1-4 draws to a close in March, when he will be off to Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras to serve as the garrison sergeant major.

"Being an American Soldier, you never know where you're going to go next or what's going to happen next," he said. "I think the Army as a whole wants Soldiers to be ready, and that means physically fit, that means tactically proficient. If we have ready forces, we'll be able to adapt and do whatever the Army asks us to do."

• Date Taken: 01.27.2016
• Date Posted: 02.10.2016 16:46
• Story ID: 188502
• Location: HOHENFELS, BY, DE