Spc. Chiquan Steele’s NTC experience

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Shane Smith | Spc. Chiquan Steele, Sr., a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania resident and indirect fire infantryman with Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, stands in the motor pool at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California Aug.19. He and others from his unit have spent the days following their return to cantonment of Fort Irwin unloading equipment from their vehicles and packing it in to connexes for shipment back to their home station in Everett, Pennsylvania following their two weeks of field training. Steele and fellow unit members are completing a month-long combat training center rotation at NTC. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Shane Smith/released)  

FORT IRWIN, CA, UNITED STATES

08.19.2018

Story by Sgt. Shane Smith 

109th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

FORT IRWIN, Calif. – Spc. Chiquan Steele, Sr., a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania resident, is an indirect fire infantryman with Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

Steele and other members of the 56th Stryker Brigade returned here to cantonment Aug. 17 after spending two weeks in the box at the National Training Center, a simulated battlefield, where they endured the harsh desert conditions and a fast-paced operational tempo.

“An average day for us was training from sun up to sun down, doing force-on-force attack and defense engagements against opposing forces,” said Steele. “We’d clear pathways through mountains, seize towns from hostile forces, set up defensive structures to defend against counterattacks, and provide fire support to other 56th Brigade elements.”

Although he is an indirect fire infantryman by occupation, Steele acted as an 11B infantryman for a large portion of his time spent in the field, receiving what he felt was valuable cross-training.

“As a mortarman, it was cool to experience another aspect of combat arms. I got to engage in a lot more direct contact on the front lines than I’d otherwise get to, which helped expand my military skillset,” Steele claimed. “The training was also outstanding from a leadership standpoint. It gave our team leaders and squad leaders good decision-making experience,” he added, “from a command and control perspective, we got good practice utilizing our chain of command from the top down. We even learned how to better utilize our support elements – our engineers, combat medics, fuelers, intel, and scouts.”

Steele says he strengthened his bonds with other members of his company while training together in the field.

“I’ve grown to really like these guys; I love Alpha Company. We’re a brotherhood and we look out for each other to make sure we’ll all get home safely,” Steele said as he looked over his shoulder at his squad members behind him. “After going through this together, I feel like we built a lot of trust and teamwork that we’ll take home with us and continue to benefit from moving forward.”

Steele and others from his unit have spent the days following their return to cantonment unloading equipment from their vehicles and packing it in to connexes for shipment back to their home station in Everett, Pennsylvania.

In his civilian life, Steele is a father of two and is currently applying for a police position in Florida, where he and his family plan to move in the future.

“The teamwork and communication skills I’ve developed in the military have helped me a lot in my civilian career, and as we prepare to leave Fort Irwin and head home I can definitely say I’m leaving here even more confident in myself.”

• Date Taken: 08.19.2018
• Date Posted: 08.19.2018 20:58
• Story ID: 289401
• Location: FORT IRWIN, CA, US
• Hometown: HARRISBURG, PA, US