Courtesy Photo | U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to Army Security Assistance Command's subordinate unit,...... read more read more
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. – In a training scenario based on real-world lessons learned, Army Capt. Alexandra Deets carefully drives her passenger through a foreign city, on their way to a key leader engagement with a partner country’s minister of defense.
Navigating potentially dangerous streets she is hyper aware of her surroundings when suddenly a car blocks her path, and from that car emerge two hostiles with guns. Immediately her training kicks in as she slams on the brakes, drops the transmission into reverse and backs the car up at high speed, until she is clear to perform an evasive driving technique, normally only seen in action movies.
“That maneuver looks awesome but is really not particularly difficult, just slightly disorienting the first time,” Deets said. “I took it slow initially, but once I got the mechanics down, the next rounds were easy. It just requires familiarity and remaining calm.”
Training like this is difficult to find in the military environment, one of the reasons this Foreign Affairs Counter Threat course was developed by the State Department in the first place.
The FACT course at Fort Bragg, run by Army military trainers from the Security Assistance Training Management Organization, a subordinate unit to the Security Assistance Command, is “the only course like it in the Army,” said Sgt. 1st Class Carlos Rodarte, the lead instructor from SATMO.
“This course was designed in response to the attacks which took place at the U.S. Mission in Benghazi, Libya in 2012,” he said.
According to Rodarte, the FACT course is very similar to a previous generation course called Security Assistance Team Training and Orientation Course, or SATTOC, that security assistance teams had to complete prior to their long-term deployments in support of foreign military sales training cases.
“SATTOC taught the same TTPs (tactics, techniques and procedures) but this is now a certified and approved instruction for the Department of State requirements,” he said. “Being the only course like this in the Army means this may potentially open the door to assist the DOS with clearing the backfill of students unable to attend due to current pandemic protocols.”
For Deets, as the aide to Brig. Gen. Douglas Lowrey, the commander of USASAC, with the global mission of managing Army foreign military sales, she understands her position could take her to austere locations and places far off-the-grid, possibly into harm’s way.
“As part of my duties I have to travel internationally with the general and we are not always on U.S. or partner military installations,” she said. “The FACT course taught me critical skills I might not otherwise have an opportunity to learn in regular Army classes i.e., evasive driving techniques, medical intervention, self-defense, vehicle search, and using fire as a weapon.”
Deets is no stranger to difficult situations as an athlete in multiple sports growing up, then being on the Parachute Team at West Point, followed by attending Army flight school for the CH-47F airframe.
Through the stress of competition and sports, while growing up, she learned the value of remaining calm when situations potentially could turn south.
“Not only are you able to keep a clear head and retain critical thinking ability, the calm image helps everyone out around you,” she said. “The calmness really solidified during my time on the parachute team and was born out of necessity. You had to remain calm and be able to problem-solve in life or death scenarios. “
Growing up in Wilmington, North Carolina, Deets also benefited from being in a military family.
“My great-great-uncle Bill Hayduck was a P-38 fighter pilot during WWII. He actually got shot down over Slovakia. Resistance forces protected him and got him to the allied lines over the course of three weeks,” she recalled. “Then my grandfather, West Point class of ‘61, in H2 Company, was a retired Army armor officer, ironically I was class of ‘16, also H2 Company. My mom did ROTC at Duke University, and served in military intelligence, and my dad served as a Marine, and then Army officer.”
Even with all that history, military service only made it to the top of her list during freshmen year of high school.
“The option was always there. I bounced between a doctor, astronaut, pro-sports player, mathematician,” she said. “I really felt that the world was my oyster.”
If it weren’t for an opportune event when she was a freshman, Deets probably would never have become an Army CH-47F aviator.
“My mom and I went to an airshow and she paid for a ride for me in a Huey. The pilots strapped me in the seat that had me practically hanging out of the aircraft and then flew with the doors off. I fell in love immediately. That’s when I knew I wanted to go to West Point and become a helicopter pilot.”
She did become a pilot, flying CH-47s with First Flight at Fort Riley, then during her assignment with 1st Combat Aviation Brigade where during one mission she flew congressional delegations over the beaches of Normandy during the ceremonies for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Four years later, she finds herself whipping cars around traffic cones and dressing wounds on medical simulation mannequins to stop bleeding.
“I feel much more confident in taking care of myself and others in the event of a medical emergency,” she said. “The SATMO instructors were amazing and made each subject entertaining and interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed the course and now I have more tools in my tool bag for overseas operations with minimal support, and for responding to unexpected situations.”
| Date Taken: | 02.10.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 02.12.2021 12:06 |
| Story ID: | 388933 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NC, US |
| Hometown: | WILMINGTON, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 142 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Security enterprise Soldiers learn threat response, by Richard Bumgardner, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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