Oklahoma National Guard Soldiers take on Marine Corps challenge

Photo By Staff Sgt. Matthew Lima | Army Specialists Scott Pepi of Boston and Wesley Sharp of Tulsa, Okla., both with the 1-158th Field Artillery, 45th Fires Brigade, Oklahoma Army National Guard stand outside the Advanced Infantry Training Center on Al Asad Airbase, Iraq, June 16, after their graduation from the Tactical Small Unit Training Course with their battalion commander, Lt. Col. Gregory Lankford, and their command sergeant major, Command Sgt. Maj. Jimmy Venable.  

AL ASAD, IRAQ

06.27.2009

Story by Staff Sgt. Matthew Lima 

45th Field Artillery Brigade

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq — Army Spc. Scott Pepi of Boston and Army Spc. Wesley Sharp of Tulsa, Okla., both from 1-158th Field Artillery, 45th Fires Brigade, Oklahoma National Guard, attended the Tactical Small Unit Training Course in Al Asad, Iraq, where they had the opportunity to give a new perspective on the National Guard by attending a course which has been traditionally comprised of U.S. Marines.

Pepi volunteered to attend the course and Sharp was selected by his battery commander, Capt. Robert Mcleod, to represent the battalion. Both individuals were the first non-Marines to attend the two-week course.

Upon arrival, both Soldiers assumed they would be staying in tents on Al Asad Air Base and be transported to ranges to conduct weapons training. The surprise came when the two Soldiers and 30 Marines attending the course were loaded onto trucks and moved out into the desert where they would spend the entire course living in two-man tents with no electricity, refrigeration or showers. It was truly living in the field.

The desert environment was their temporary home where they drank bottled water that shared the same high temperatures as they did and ate military meals-ready-to-eat three times a day.

There was only one hardened building, which was used to conduct classroom training on the tactics and weaponry that they would have to perform in order to complete the course. Following the blocks of classroom instruction, the Soldiers walked up to three miles through the desert to perform the required tasks. During the course, the temperatures reached as high as 134 degrees, which was difficult enough to deal with, but with the addition of full combat gear it was often excruciating.

The training the Soldiers conducted was referred to as "big boy" training. This meant that the maneuvers were all performed utilizing live rounds as the service members moved and engaged targets. Teamwork was the key to success. It allowed them to coordinate all movements and actions while engaged in a full combat scenario. Sharp said the school stressed "being able to be a leader in a situation where you may not necessarily know everybody." The training was designed as advanced infantry training with the emphasis on developing leadership skills.

The most difficult part of the training was dealing with the heat. The Soldiers dealt with it by consuming a lot of water and just "sucking it up." Each day started at 5:00 a.m. and didn't end until 11:00 p.m. Maintaining the energy level necessary to perform became difficult as the temperatures continued to rise and the sand storms swept through the area every two to three days.

During one of the weapons courses, Sharp was clearing an M240 Machine Gun when a round "cooked off" in the chamber. This happens when the temperature of the weapon is so high it has the ability to ignite a round just by contact. Though Sharp experienced what it feels to have a nose broken by a bullet casing coming out the wrong end of a weapon, he didn't complain. Instead, he continued through the remainder of the training in order to test himself and know he could do it.

At the start of the course, the Marines did not know what to expect from the two Soldiers who had infiltrated their training. They did not believe that Army Soldiers would have the heart and dedication to complete the course. Pepi and Sharp were both told that their performance during the course broke a lot of the stereotypes that the Marines had toward the Army.

Sharp and Pepi trained and fought with the drive of true Soldiers. They were never last during any event, and Sharp graduated second in the class based on his overall performance.

"I don't know why more Army Soldiers don't attend. The course is open to anyone," said Marine Sgt. Morgan, the lead instructor for the course. He went on to say he "would be proud to have more Army Soldiers come through, especially if they [have the] heart and mindset of you two," referring to Pepi and Sharp.

These two 1-158th FA Soldiers not only completed the course, which had the ability to challenge the most dedicated Soldier, but they also demonstrated that some of the assumptions about National Guard troops are as realistic as believing this course would have air conditioning.

• Date Taken: 06.27.2009
• Date Posted: 07.02.2009 08:59
• Story ID: 35883
• Location: AL ASAD, IQ