Photo By Sgt. Joseph Knoch | Pvt. Elias Carcia, an Aircraft Powertrain Repairer, twith the Headquarters Support...... read more read more
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ILLESHEIM, Germany -- The Headquarters Support Company, 601st Aviation Support Battalion, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade out of Fort Riley, Kansas, on rotation in Germany, conducted a Convoy Dry Fire training exercise in Illesheim, Germany, July 10 to 12, 2019.
The exercise was designed to train skills necessary for a company-sized convoy of Soldiers to navigate wooded terrain, and survive multiple encounters with opposition forces (OPFOR).
“Honestly I think the training has been really helpful because it gets us out of the office,” said Spc. Patrick Wallace, a Human Resource Specialist, with the Headquarters Support Company, 601st Aviation Support Battalion, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade. “We’re a part of an Aviation Support Battalion so mainly we deal with administrative work, or we work on the helicopters, so getting to train outdoors with our weapons is great for us.”
The exercise was split into three phases. Phase one allowed these Soldiers to do a step-by-step rehearsal with their leadership discussing the various elements of the convoy’s mission, challenges they needed to be ready to face, and how they were to proceed in the event of enemy engagement.
“We started out the first day at a very slow pace where we just rolled through the course and took note of where our place in the exercise was,” Wallace said. “The first day was a good walk-through. The next day, we were able to rehearse engaging the enemy and the oppositional force. That’s when the tempo started picking up and it got a lot more exciting.”
Phase two allowed the Soldiers the opportunity to make their own decisions and move through the various elements of the exercise but without the pressure to perform at a high speed.
“I’m a Human Resource Specialist so I mostly handle administrative work, so whenever I get the chance to come out and participate in training or go to a National Training Center, it’s a nice change and helps me get back to sharpening my tactical skills,” Wallace said.
In phase three, elements of this training ranging from supply pickups, addressing wounds, defending against enemy engagement, nine line medical evacuation calls, situational reports, land navigation, strategic and tactical planning were all placed in full swing as a real time evaluation and reaction of these skill sets took place.
“The training was helpful in the aspect of future deployments if we ever had to set up a forward arming and refueling point or secure an airfield,” said Sgt. Benjamin Hite, an Aircraft Powerplant Repairer, with the Headquarters Support Company, 601st Aviation Support Battalion, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade. “We know that we are able to convoy out there safely and we know how to react if we are engaged.”
The convoys were primarily comprised of two types of vehicles; high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWV’s or Humvee’s) and light medium tactical vehicles (LMTV’s). The Soldiers were armed with a typical mounted set up of M2 .50 caliber machine guns, M249 squad automatic machine guns, M240 squad automatic machine guns, and M4 assault rifles. Each weapon was only loaded with blanks and outfitted with blank firing adapters (BFA’s).
“My favorite part about the training was when we were out doing the exercises with the weapons and convoys,” said Hite. “We were actually able to engage with the opposition force. It was a good and fun learning experience for all of my guys and myself.”
A valuable aspect of this training was that OPFOR were staged and ready to engage as enemy combatants throughout the course. The convoys had to navigate these engagements successfully in order to complete their mission.
“Being OPFOR we want the soldiers who are in the convoy to feel the stress that comes from being in an actual fight and being able to make decisions under that stress,” said Spc. Adolf Alvarez, Avionic and Survivability Equipment Repairer, Headquarters Support Company, 601st Aviation Support Battalion, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade.
Alvarez went on to share that the value of this training was not lost on him because he was playing the role of OPFOR.
“The first time I found out about this training I was pretty excited to get to see what our guys would do under pressure, and it was exciting to be on OPFOR because it gives a glimpse at what the enemy does,” Alvarez said “Even though we are OPFOR we are still getting training in military tactics.”
“I think this was really good. This was probably one of the best trainings I’ve gotten in the last three and a half four years that I’ve been with 601st,” Wallace said. “In the last iteration that we did I got to be the QRF or the quick response force, which was good training. We were rolling down the trail and realized that there was going to be enemy up ahead, so we dismounted early and went through the woods to try and get them by surprise before they could get us. It was a lot of fun.”
Alvarez was among those OPFOR overtaken by this strategic move.
“Opposition forces are important because they give our Soldiers a more realistic look at what would happen down range,” Alvarez said. “It gives them the closest training you can get besides being in a deployed environment. My favorite part of the training was getting the convoys in a sticky situation and seeing how they would react.”
| Date Taken: | 07.12.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 07.19.2019 07:13 |
| Story ID: | 332008 |
| Location: | DE |
| Web Views: | 268 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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