Photo By Staff Sgt. Kati Volkman | Soldiers with the 32nd “Red Arrow” Infantry Brigade Combat Team participate in a...... read more read more
CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. — Soldiers with the 32nd “Red Arrow” Infantry Brigade Combat Team participate in a simulated warfighter exercise (WFX) at Camp Atterbury, Ind., May 30-June 15.
Red Arrow soldiers left their homes and civilian careers to join forces with soldiers from an additional seven brigades and the division headquarters in order to test and evaluate the readiness of commanders and their staff on large scale combat operations through computer simulated scenarios.
Command Sgt. Maj. John Dietzler II, command sergeant major of the 32nd brigade, sees this exercise as an opportunity to bring soldiers together to experience new roles and strengthen their knowledge in many ways.
“Learning to collaborate is a huge part of this exercise, not only amongst ourselves but with the other brigades,” Dietzler says. “The process allows opportunities for staff to be developed, especially when it comes to tactics.”
Staff Sgt. Somsak Xiong, who is a truck driver with the Red Arrow as well as a full-time battalion training and operations sergeant, has participated in a similar exercise before but at the battalion level. In this exercise he is learning a lot while working as part of the brigade support battalion, ensuring that the different components get supply support.
“It is rough missing out on family events and trips, especially with things opening back up right now, but this is such a great opportunity for planning purposes and exposure,” Xiong explains. “We forget that there’s more than just us boots on the ground, that our leaders have to report to higher levels and it’s good understanding how all of those parts work together.”
Many of the soldiers here rely on family back home to fill in for them while they are away for training missions and deployments. Cpt. Lonnie Roy, logistics officer with 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry Regiment, is acting as the brigade operations and training officer and the day-shift battle captain during this exercise. Those responsibilities keep him busy and out of contact, and he feels fortunate to have a strong support network at home.
“I was first deployed soon after my first child was born, and my mother-in-law moved in to help out,” Roy reflects. “Since then, if I need to leave for military training, everyone steps up to help out. This time is especially challenging because my wife and I have a newborn, but we are fortunate to have a good family tree that is there to support us.”
This strong family support is also felt by Sgt.1st Class Kimberly Burrows, senior property book sergeant with the Red Arrow. While at the WFX she is fulfilling a dual role, stating that she is in charge of, “beans, bullets, and beds” within the simulation as well as for the soldiers on site with the brigade.
“I play a large role in my family as a whole, so to prepare to be gone for this exercise we all sat down for a family meal to plan and coordinate for how everything would work while I’m here,” Burrows recounts. She goes on to explain that this planning is especially important since soldiers are not able to bring personal electronic devices into the simulation area while they are working their shifts.
Staff Sgt. Pierre Guy, military police with the Red Arrow, works in sales for his civilian career and finds that this time away is valuable in many ways. His role in the exercise is to maintain the air defense, and he explains that there is more to these exercises than just learning a new role.
“Through exercises like this I am expanding my ability to move past the discomfort of new challenges and learning to solve problems in new ways,” Guy states. “It’s great because these are skills that I can bring back to my civilian career.”
Overall, Col. Jeffery Alston, commander of the 32nd brigade, sees this training exercise as an invaluable part of ensuring the readiness of the brigade.
“The warfighter tests your mission command with the staff, communications, being doctrinally sound, and understanding the role our brigade plays,” Alston explains. “You know, I've got 4200 of the world's best soldiers. They are technically competent, tactically ready, motivated, ready to go, but if we can't direct them underneath mission command, it's no good, and there's a tremendous amount that goes with that.”
The warfighter exercise is one of many training opportunities that build into exercises that become more complex, eventually integrating more troops into the process. Alston states that the combination of top-down and bottom-up training ensures that the Red Arrow is ready for any mission.
“We're making progress, we're in a good spot, but there's more to do,” Alston emphasizes.
| Date Taken: | 06.06.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.07.2021 18:20 |
| Story ID: | 398340 |
| Location: | CAMP ATTERBURY, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 185 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Red Arrow Mission Command Put to the Test, by SSG Kati Volkman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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