Prepared and Ready

Photo By Sgt. Tyler Morford | Bravo Company Commander, Maj. Ryan Demro, leads his Soldiers through exercise Crimson Dawn 3.0, conducted at Fort Custer, Augusta, Mich., on March 16, 2021, before the unit deploys to support Atlantic Resolve.  

FORT CUSTER, MI, UNITED STATES

03.18.2021

Story by Spc. Tyler Morford 

First Army

Knowledge is a vital part of unit readiness before deployment; that knowledge, for the 415th Civil Affairs Battalion, is measured and tested at exercise Crimson Dawn 3.0, conducted at Fort Custer, Augusta, Mich., on March 16, 2021. While being evaluated by OC/Ts from First Army and the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade, the 415th CA BN went into the exercise to prepare for their mission overseas which includes deterring negative influences on partnered sovereign nations, increasing interoperability, and building cooperation with allies.

This exercise, for Soldiers of the 415th CA BN, is one of their final culminating events, before being deployed to support Atlantic Resolve, while being led by Bravo Company Commander, Maj. Ryan Demro, who feels confident in his Soldiers. “Each team over the last eight or nine months, has become, essentially, experts, subject matter experts, in their particular country, so they have been investigating demographic information, sources of negative influence, from other places that might be destabilizing factors; learning about the culture and the language, and the practices in those countries will help our Soldiers mesh and have a better relationship with the peoples of those nations.”

Building relationships, a major objective for Civil Affairs Soldiers, may incorporate a task such as talking to someone, an easy task for a unit that has knowledge and experience in eliminating cultural and language barriers. “I can tell you even before I we got here to Fort Custer, I was one-hundred percent confident in their ability to take this mission on before we even got to this point.”

Maj. Demro has experience when knowing whether a unit is fully prepared, being a former OC/T himself, “I really enjoyed being an OC/T, I’m a teacher by civilian occupation, so I enjoy that kind of environment, and I think it is a good way for the Army to train. As an OCT, you look for the things that might be missing and how people learn and grow as they go through the scenario, and it’s interesting to watch how quickly Soldiers adapt when they realize that there’s a gap and that gap has been highlighted for them, and to watch that change occur so quickly is a good thing.”

Another member of the 415th who was a prior OC/T with the 120th Infantry Brigade at Fort Hood, Tex., 415th CA BN Team Chief, Cpt. Pavel Anisimov, described his contribution as an OC/T as a rewarding experience, “As a prior OC/T myself, as I was an OC/T with First Army, if you talk to our OC/Ts, all of them have experience, they’re not just evaluating us and grading us, they are also sharing their experience and pointing us in the right direction; the job of an OC/T is really important, you’re not trying to critique the unit, especially when you conduct an AAR, you use open-ended questions to lead the unit toward self-discovery.”

Born in Vladivostok, Russia, on the Pacific coast, Cpt. Anisimov now lives in the United States and brings with him critical knowledge of the operating region including the ability to speak Russian, Ukrainian, and Polish. “If you try to learn just a little bit in their own language, it opens the hearts of locals.” Cpt. Anisimov feels his unit is ready, “I have strong confidence in my team, and I think when we go there, to Poland, we will do great things, not only on our side but also with our local counterparts.” The transition will be made even easier for the 415th due to the feedback and communication, during exercise Crimson Dawn, with a unit already operating in Europe.

• Date Taken: 03.18.2021
• Date Posted: 04.26.2021 09:08
• Story ID: 394684
• Location: FORT CUSTER, MI, US
• Hometown: SAN FRANCISCO, CA, US
• Hometown: WEST LAKE VILLAGE, OH, US