Raider Brigade closes out a successful rotation at NTC

Photo By Lt. Col. Randy Ready | Bradley Fighting Vehicles from 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment continue their attack as the sun begins to set at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California April 13. The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division’s decisive action rotation at the National Training Center tested the brigade’s systems and capabilities as they fought a near-peer enemy threat. (Photo by Maj. Randy Ready)  

FORT IRWIN, CA, UNITED STATES

04.18.2017

Story by Maj. Randy Ready 

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

Soldiers from 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division completed their rotation at Fort Irwin, California’s National Training Center April 15.

The two-week decisive action rotation pitted the Raider Brigade against a very challenging near-peer enemy threat that included insurgent, guerilla and conventional forces in a dynamic environment meant to test the brigade’s systems and capabilities.

“Our objective was to validate our training at the collective level and an opportunity to sustain training, leader and equipment readiness here at the National Training Center in a very demanding and complex environment,” said Col. Phil Brooks, the commander for 1ABCT, 3ID. “Overall the rotation went great and I attribute a lot of that to the noncommissioned officers and Soldiers keeping a positive attitude and a willingness to get better every day, despite the hardships they faced at the National Training Center.”

Spc. Matthew McLain, a tank gunner with Company C, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, said one of the biggest challenges his crew faced at NTC was fighting an opposing force that fights on the same terrain every month.

“We definitely got a challenge; the opposing force knew how to utilize their vehicles in ways that we couldn’t easily counter,” said McLain, a native of Booneville, Mississippi. “They would hide their entire vehicle behind a terrain feature and just have a guy pop out of the turret and hit us with an anti-tank rocket.”

McLain, who was recognized by the NTC observer/controller teams as the Soldier of the Rotation for destroying 11 enemy armored vehicles in one battle, said his crew was able to quickly learn and adapt to the enemy’s tactics.

“I have to give it up to my tank crew, they were the ones that did all the work to get me where I needed to be to take the enemy out,” said McLain. “My driver, Pfc. Michael Allen, got us into places I never dreamed we would be able to get a tank. He went into some terrain that normal drivers either wouldn’t go into or would break or throw track. I feel like they need a little more credit than I do.”

Sgt. Travis Boyd, a medic with Company C, 3rd Brigade Support Battalion’s medical evacuation platoon, said NTC gave his crew the chance to validate all of the training they conducted at Fort Stewart prior to the NTC rotation.

“One of the biggest things I wanted to get at was validate the tactics, techniques and procedures and the standing operating procedures my crew has,” said Boyd, a native of Andrews, South Carolina. “We worked a lot in the rear just trying to get crew drills together, trying to replicate scenarios that might come up in the box at NTC and just come here and validate those scenarios in a stressful environment.”

That stress increased on the very first training day when the back ramp on Boyd’s M113 broke and they could no longer lower it to load casualties.

“We had to work around some of the TTPs and SOPs that we made to get casualties in and out of our M113,” said Boyd. “We practiced loading casualties through the hatch of the M113. I’m very impressed with the fortitude my crew had just to adapt and overcome; think outside of the norm to get to the ultimate goal of saving lives.”

Boyd, who was recognized as the NCO of the Rotation, said his leadership made it possible for his crew to come up with creative solutions to complicated problems.

“It was my crew, day in day out, following the guidelines the commanders gave us,” said Boyd. “They told us to train, go out there and make mistakes, just train and we’ll have your back. Knowing your brigade and battalion commander have your back means if you give 100%, if you make mistakes, they are going to back you up, so that gives you the leeway to go train and try to perfect the skills.”

That leeway is what Boyd said allowed his crew to accomplish their mission.

“Doing whatever we can do to treat casualties, transport casualties to the next role of care,” said Boyd. “That’s our job, saving lives on the battlefield.”

Brooks said though the NTC rotation is over, it is imperative the brigade take the lessons learned from the rotation back to Fort Stewart to focus their training.

“The NTC observer/controllers provided us with a lot of great feedback throughout our rotation that really helped us see ourselves,” said Brooks. “The feedback they provided will help us build our training glide-path when we return to Fort Stewart so that we can work on the things identified as needing improvement as we continue to build readiness within the brigade.”

For McLain, though he is a specialist filling a NCO position, he plans to take on more of a leadership role when he returns to Fort Stewart.

“This was my first rotation being in a true NCO position,” said McLain. “I took a lot of very hard-learned leadership skills away from this rotation and I’m definitely going to be more proactive with my crew when we return to Fort Stewart and continue to learn from our experiences here at NTC.”

• Date Taken: 04.18.2017
• Date Posted: 04.18.2017 16:23
• Story ID: 230747
• Location: FORT IRWIN, CA, US
• Hometown: ANDREWS, SC, US
• Hometown: BOONEVILLE, MS, US