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JOINT BASE CAPE COD, Mass. — The 328th Military Police Company, New Jersey National Guard, traveled by convoy from Cherry Hill across the George Washington bridge and the Bourne bridge to participate in Patriot Crucible here at Camp Edwards July 28 to Aug. 8.
Patriot Crucible is a combined arms exercise, a two-week test for Army combat support units in major combat operations against a modern and professional enemy force.
“It was probably the longest convoy we've done in a while and as anyone knows we experienced the wonderful New York traffic,” said 1st Lt. Justin Hunter, commander of the 328th, “dealing with an urban environment there's nothing better for experience than New York City.”
Upon their arrival to Camp Edwards the unit received a full tour of the Barnstable County Correctional Facility, which sits outside the Bourne gate to Camp Edwards, by members of the Sheriff's Office like Maj. Chris Eordekian and the Correction Officers working their shifts.
“It's all about how to be firm, fair, and consistent. How to handle an inmate and not be handled by an inmate. We just want to bring to light that you are a target in there but through your training you'll be at your best in those units,” said Eordekian.
They also received classroom instruction on procedures used for detention operations and detainee safety.
“There's a lot of 18-19 year-olds here that have never experienced any type of prison or detention site so they have a clearer picture of what they're going to do on a deployment and an appreciation for those that do the job everyday,” said Hunter.
Their next task brought them to Tactical Training Base Kelley, a forward-operating base established in Camp Edwards equipped with its own detention center.
Members of the 328th maintained security of their area while runninng drills on detainee cell extractions, where violent or non-compliant detainees are removed from the cell while ensuring the safety of the detainees and Soldiers alike.
“The Watch Master will try to de-escalate the situation and if the detainee does not comply they will be asked again three times and if they do not comply we will pull the team in,” said Staff Sgt. Glenn Richardson, a squad leader for the 328th.
The team stacks up in protective gear against the cell and moves in to bring the detainee to the prone position and lift the detainee up as a group.
A medic assigned to the team immediately checks the detainee and other Soldiers for injuries during and after the extraction.
The 328th also fielded a quick reaction force with their third platoon, who worked closely with Massachusetts transportation units during the exercise providing route security and route reconnaissance.
“What tends to happen in the Guard is we become insulated and stay within our own states so to get out into the field and sleep side-by-side with other units just reinforces that we're all Soldiers, we're all trained the same, and we're all here to do the same mission,” said Sgt. Randy Pearce, squad leader for third platoon.
“It's about being willing to step in whenever needed, at two o'clock in the morning, when the FOB is being attacked you're out there side-by-side with another company helping secure the area,” said Pearce.
Patriot Crucible continually tests units traveling along the winding dirt roads or at TTB Kelley and battalion support areas (where Soldiers sleep in the field to maintain a foothold on the battlefield), with different kinds of simulated threats including small-arms fire, indirect fire, and chemical weapon attacks.
The 328th falls under a combat sustainment support battalion back in New Jersey, that is designed to perform many of the same logistical and tactical challenges tested at Patriot Crucible.
Hunter said, “One of our sister companies is the 253rd Transportation Company and when they heard what we were doing up here and that we were working with transportation companies, immediately their commander Cpt. Lawrence reached out to us and said, 'I want to be a part of this.'”
Continuous training events at Patriot Crucible are monitored closely by Observer-Controller-Trainers, consisting of experienced Soldiers from the 174th Infantry Brigade, Fort Dix, New Jersey, who make sure the participating units know when they've succeeded and especially when they've failed.
“Hats off to the OCTs they selected like Staff Sgt. Vaughn and Staff Sgt. Wright. Those guys have been a wealth of knowledge and experience that we could not have duplicated where we're from,” said Hunter.
“Being able to combine our skills with other units and practice in the field, what we would typically do at an armory is an invaluable experience,” said Pearce.
“As veteran leaders this is the perfect environment to take young Soldiers into the field and after two weeks have a new level of confidence that we're ready to take on whatever mission the Army hands down.”
| Date Taken: | 08.05.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 08.07.2019 15:11 |
| Story ID: | 334556 |
| Location: | CAMP EDWARDS, MA, US |
| Web Views: | 102 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, New Jersey National Guard Soldiers join the fight for combined arms exercise Patriot Crucible, by SGT Michael Broughey, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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