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4th Infantry Division participates in Warfighter exercise November 2020
FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Soldiers across the 4th infantry Division tested their combat capabilities during Warfighter exercise which enhanced the division’s overall readiness to fight and win Nov. 4 - 13, 2020, Fort Carson, Co.
The Warfighter Exercise (WFX) is a division command culminating event involving a computer simulation of warfighter functions in a near-peer combat situation.
“The Army does the warfighter for division so they can be certified in the ability to be ready to face near-peer adversaries where it’s done through simulations and computers so we simulate brigades going through the battlefield,” said Master Sgt. John H. Cushman, a master religious affairs noncommissioned officer, Headquarters Support Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion (HHBN), 4th Inf. Div..
Ivy Soldiers completed a series of Command Post Exercises (CPX) in preparation for WFX.
“There is CPX I, II, and III. At each level you have a graduated requirement for communications, equipment setup, and participation,” said Cushman. “You’re working through the military decision making process.”
The WFX is designed to test the division staff in their areas of expertise and see how they function as a forward-deployed command headquarters.
“When you’re participating in the exercise, you are going to focus on your area of expertise -- which is like a piece of a pie,” said Cushman. “Soldiers from different areas of expertise come together and everyone has their own piece of the pie that adds to the mission.”
Additionally, working in the field comes with its own set of challenges and accomplishments, said Cushman. It’s a great opportunity to get to know your team, creating a unique bond, gained through getting to know everyone’s personalities while working together in a field exercise.
“This WFX presented unique challenges in the form of COVID-19 because it took people out of the fight,” said Cushman. “It actually made the mission more realistic. If we were fighting a near-peer adversary who used biological warfare, you would lose people. It really increased the realism.”
During the WFX, masks were worn and work spaces were sanitized as a safety precaution due to the current pandemic.
“Despite COVID-19, we kept going until the mission was complete,” said Master Sgt. Petero Valai, a supply and services noncommissioned officer assigned to HHBN, 4th Inf. Div.. “We socially distanced and wore face masks throughout the mission.”
According to Valai, everyone, from the lowest to highest ranking Soldiers, had to prepare for combat scenarios during the WFX, which will be useful for deployment.
“Weapons qualification, communication and cold weather training were some of the skills obtained from this event,” said Valai.
The cycle of the WFX will continue to test the Ivy Division with a set of challenges and battle strategies, but for now the mission is complete.
| Date Taken: | 12.01.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.01.2020 14:33 |
| Story ID: | 384004 |
| Location: | FT CARSON, CO, US |
| Web Views: | 95 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, 4th Infantry Division participates in Warfighter exercise November 2020, by SGT Woodlyne Escarne, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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