Falcon Brigade: Ready to fight, Training to Win

Photo By Sgt. Hubert Delany | Paratroopers assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, provide support by fire during a Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise (CALFEX) on Fort Bragg, N.C., Aug. 9, 2016. The BCT conducted the CALFEX in preparation for battalion-level live fire exercises later this year, keeping Paratroopers ready to jump, fight and win. (U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Hubert D. Delany III)  

FORT BRAGG, NC, UNITED STATES

08.12.2016

Story by Pvt. Hubert Delany 

22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Kicking up tufts of dirt on a hot, humid, and still North Carolina day, the Paratroopers ran into position over the pile of red clay they were ordered to seize. The sweat traveling down their faces did not hinder the Soldiers' focus on the buildings they had in their weapon sights.
Disciplined Paratroopers knelt, waiting for commands. On cue, they pulled triggers creating bursts of flames as rounds sped through the muzzle of their weapons. When the smoke cleared, their leaders brought them together to discuss the pros and cons of their performance.
The Paratroopers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 82nd Airborne Division, conducted a Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise (CALFEX) from Aug. 4. through Aug. 15, 2016, on Fort Bragg N.C. The CALFEX, a pinnacle training event for a BCT, provided Falcon Paratroopers with the opportunity to incorporate ground, air, and sustainment assets from across the Division to create a realistic combat training scenario.
Col. Patrick Work, commander of the 2nd BCT, spoke on the importance, scale, and scope of the training.
“There is some extraordinary work being done out here,” Work said. “The artillerymen have their counter fire: a fire finding radar out in the field right now, as well as their shooting batteries. You have fire supporters built into the company formations. You have the engineers out here breaching, and we are bringing it all together with intelligence assets. The military intelligence has its unmanned aerial systems up. … For us this is a really critical training event, an important milestone as we prepare for readiness."
Different units from throughout the All American Division are brought into the CALFEX to allow commanders a range of capabilities ensuring cohesiveness and effectiveness within their teams. Aviators, engineers, logisticians, and infantryman were only a fraction of the assets utilized at any given time by commanders to accomplish the mission.
In support of the CALFEX, the 407th Brigade Support Battalion set up a Brigade Support Area (BSA) where logisticians were able to exercise their many crafts. Some of these include providing medical aid, meals, and equipment maintenance. The Soldiers did this while conducting training vital to the defense of the BSA.
The CALFEX is the type of training that keeps the Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division ready to jump, fight and win.
“The complexity of the battle drills help prepare everybody,” said Spc. Brett Webb, an infantryman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, 2nd BCT. “It’s because events like this that we’re ready to do our jobs.”

• Date Taken: 08.12.2016
• Date Posted: 08.12.2016 18:04
• Story ID: 206997
• Location: FORT BRAGG, NC, US