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The Nov. 21 exercise, Operation Gladiator Descent, revived a tactic the Army used early in the Iraq War.
Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Soldiers trained in sling load operations, which includes the movement of large pieces of equipment like Humvees or generators while attached to a Chinook helicopter.
Operation Gladiator Descent took the average sling load operation to the next level by transporting an entire division assault command post.
The division ACP move consisted of a tent, multiple vehicles, communications equipment and enough Soldiers to conduct warfighting functions. The two Chinook helicopters made trips in quick succession, transporting essential personnel and equipment.
“This is just another branch plan for the division commander,” said Capt. Dwight Hicks, assistant operations officer of HHB. “If we need to get to an area quickly, we can provide him the warfighting functions that allow him to control a fight for a minimal amount of time until we can get more assets forward.”
The Soldiers performing the operation trained for three weeks to master every aspect of the operation. The exercise provided participants with the opportunity to use what they learned at The Sabalauski Air Assault School in a realistic, large scale scenario and demonstrate their air assault proficiency.
“This is a chance for the division headquarters to gain more confidence in their Soldiers, knowing that they can plan and execute an air assault mission in a timely manner,” Hicks said. “They can show that they can work through the friction to meet the objective.”
It is vitally important that each member of the team remains proficient in their assigned tasks so Soldiers are able to perform when they use these tactics in actual combat.
“We want to make sure that that our Soldiers are trained properly and are able to execute flawlessly,” said Sgt. 1st Class Eddy Rivera, the chalk leader for the second lift. “This is our bread and butter, This is what we prepare for, and this is what our training involves every day. You can’t train for every situation but at least the big pieces that go into completing the puzzle are all there.”
Mobility is a key factor with staying dominant and lethal against America’s threats. With an ever changing and evolving battlefield, increasing the division’s mobility by combining classic tactics with new technology is vital to ensuring our Soldiers remain the world’s premier air assault division.
“We have this renewed focus on large scale combat operations against bigger threats,” said Maj. Robert Rose, future operations officer of 101st Abn. Div. “This movement allows us, in a rapid fashion to pull forward a mission command for our brigades to synchronize, enabling them to close in and destroy the enemy.”
| Date Taken: | 11.27.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 12.09.2019 15:19 |
| Story ID: | 354858 |
| Location: | FORT CAMPBELL, KY, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Exercise readies Soldiers for air assault supremacy, by SGT Allen Gilman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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