Photo By Sgt. Heidi Kroll | U.S Army Pfc. Jay Panes, combat engineer, Alpha Company, Special Troops Battalion,...... read more read more
Alpha Company, Engineers, Special Troops Battalion, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain) was able to begin training with the TALON 3 at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vt., on April 2, 2016. The unit is scheduled to receive the TALON 4 in 2017.
The TALON 3 is a lightweight, unmanned, tracked military. The robot is developed to protect warfighters and first responders against explosive threats. Soldiers can remotely control a TALON 3 robot from up to 1000 feet away. Alpha Co. will soon be using the TALON 4 to replace Soldiers when they are investigating improvised explosive devices (IED), mines, and anything suspicious in their area of operations.
“The TALON 4 will be another tool in our toolbox to help counteract an IED,” said Vaughan. Today was a day of learning the controls and how to use the robot to pick up and move objects. These skills will be critical when it comes to interacting with an IED.
“To spot an IED and pick it up, or pick up explosives, it was tricky and touchy,” said Spc. Eric Beck, combat engineer. Smiles were on many faces as the Soldiers moved mortar shells, ammunition boxes, and used the TALON 3 to pass empty canisters to other Soldiers.
When the unit receives the TALON 4, they will be able to deploy the robot to investigate objects that have taken the lives Soldiers in the past. With this robot threats can be identified at a distance, assessed, and appropriately neutralized.
The unit also participated in two different IED lanes. In preparation, Alpha Co. was taught a class on the components of an IED, where they may be located, and the correct response upon positive identification. Squads were given the mission to attend a Key Leader Engagement (KLE) meeting and needed to focus on arriving safely. Each training iteration consisted of one squad departing on Humvees and a second squad would hiking 500 meters through the trees to a remote location.
While maneuvering to the KLE, the Soldiers had to block out the snow flying through the air and the mud under their feet in order to use their new skills to search the ground for indicators of IEDs. Indicators of IEDs may include things such as disturbed earth on the road or suspicious devices along the roadway. If the squad failed to identify the simulated IED, it was alerted by a training simulation round.
“We are definitely a unit that loves to be outside, the morale goes up every time we get to come out and do hands on training,” said Brown.
This motivational training reminds the Soldiers why they joined the Army, and what they want to do when they come to drill, said Vaughan.
| Date Taken: | 04.02.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 04.05.2016 12:05 |
| Story ID: | 194419 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 121 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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