Oregon National Guard Soldiers train for readiness

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Amy Elker | Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, conduct combined tactical training exercises at Camp Rilea, March 3, 2018. The three-day training allowed Soldiers to prepare for combat situations. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Amy Elker, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)  

CAMP RILEA, OR, UNITED STATES

03.03.2018

Story by Staff Sgt. Amy Elker 

115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

WARRENTON, Oregon - Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers must utilize every possible moment for training opportunities, so that when a state or national emergency or threat occurs, they will be ready. During their monthly drill weekend, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team Soldiers with the 741st Brigade Engineer Battalion and 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, engaged in tactical training with the 249th Regional Training Institute (RTI), at Camp Rilea, March 2-4, 2018, to practice setting up and using new equipment and to sharpen their skills.

Sgt. Charles Domina, a multi-channel systems operator and maintainer with C Company, 741st Brigade Engineer Battalion, trained to set up a 15-meter High Capacity Line of Sight (HCLOS) radio system terminal. The purpose of this system is to provide line of sight communication between other HCLOS terminals, which are capable of passing data to each other without needing to interface with a satellite system.

“A typical drill weekend for us usually is maintaining our equipment because where we’re at, we don’t necessarily have the space needed to train on our equipment,” Domina said. “Coming out here really allows us the opportunity to get pretty widespread; we have another HCLOS antennae that’s going up about two miles from here that we’re going to be communicating with.”

Other training that took place over the weekend included route clearance, using the Buffalo Mine-Protected Clearance Vehicle and the Husky Vehicle Mounted Mine Detector, and learning how to use High Mobility Engineering Excavators at dig sites.

“This is my favorite part of drill — scaling out a dig site and training to do our job,” said Spc. Kevin Winterfield, with B Company, 741st Brigade Engineer Battalion.

Staff Sgt. Hubbard Howe, with B Company, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, spent the weekend conducting infantry battle drills, including movement to contact, ultimately resulting in a raid on a mock village.

“This is why I joined,” Howe said. “There’s something just really exciting about getting together as a platoon, building your skills, going out and tackling these complex missions, and preparing for the ultimate annual training that we get to do each year.”

• Date Taken: 03.03.2018
• Date Posted: 03.05.2018 12:50
• Story ID: 268083
• Location: CAMP RILEA, OR, US