Photo By Sgt. Madeline Fortune | Spc. Kalan Cole, assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment,...... read more read more
FORT POLK, La.— The Arkansas National Guard’s 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has endured the heat and humidity of Central Louisiana during intense combat training at the Joint Readiness Training Center throughout July. On Sunday, July 25th, the brigade’s 3,000 Soldiers experienced an attack from the U.S. Army’s full time opposing force, also known as Geronimo. The attack culminated one of the toughest phases of the training. Sunday night was Fight Night.
For many young Soldiers here at the Joint Readiness Training Center, this is their first time training in such an extreme and austere combat environment. Soldiers from Benton, Sheridan and Texarkana were positioned to fight in the southern end of the fighting area known as ‘the Box.’ The eastern end of the brigade’s area of operations would be defended by Soldiers from Missouri. Together they would try to repel Geronimo’s efforts to break the Bowie Team’s lines. The Box is Geronimo’s home turf.
For Missouri National Guard Spc. Kalan Cole, assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment, JRTC is not an unfamiliar challenge. This is his third training rotation in his five-year military career. Tonight, Cole experienced again the familiar feelings of anticipation, dread, and excitement as he awaited Fight Night.
Attacks at JRTC simulate gunfire, artillery, gas and explosives. JRTC uses weapons loaded with blank ammunition and Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement Systems (MILES) to simulate weapons. This sophisticated laser tag-like system is essential to replicating the battlefield effects of combat. MILES on every soldier and vehicle are used to evaluate the combat scenarios at JRTC. Nobody really gets hurt, but they have a way keep score.
“Geronimo is very good at what they do,” said First Sergeant Kenneth B.G. Johnson. “They are well trained and they make this no less than chaotic. That’s what [JRTC] is designed to be.”
Three Hours in Batoor
Charlie Company was dug in near the JRTC village of Batoor, a small village made up of tin huts and goat trails. It was around 8 p.m. when the day started fading into night and the Louisiana heat started to lessen in intensity. That’s when Cole heard the anxiously-awaited signal that the enemy was on their way. A roar of exhilaration resounded throughout the fighting area while Soldiers of Charlie Company occupied their fighting positions and prepared to smoke anyone or anything getting in their way.
Cole quickly stooped down as he made his way to the fighting position; a 4-foot deep trench that he and his team dug by hand earlier that week. Fifteen Soldiers filled the small, congested trench with sweat, funk, and filth from not being able to shower for over 10 days. Cole and his comrades began pulling 100% security in anticipation of the enemy.
Twenty minutes passed and the only unwanted intruders the Soldiers encountered were the spiders and fire ants that crept across their grimy hands. Half of the Soldiers sank into their dirt-carved seats so they could try to get some sleep, while the other half stayed alert and looked through the sights of their rifles to provide security.
Within minutes, you could see the steady rise and fall of Soldiers’ chests as they began to sleep, despite the crumbles of dirt falling into their closed eyes and the whispers of fellow Soldiers anticipating the battle.
It was still warm outside, but the abrupt change from the 100 degree heat index of the day to the 80 degree heat at night, made the Soldiers’ sweat-drenched uniforms feel like a cold, suffocating blanket. Yet somehow, they still slept. Some were lying down on the dirt floor, some were sprawled out on the dirt bench, and some were just sitting upright on the ground, but if they weren’t pulling security, they were sleeping.
After four hours of continuing to toss and turn in their makeshift dirt bed or pulling security, they heard the command they had been waiting for all night. “Wake up! We’ve got eyes on the enemy.” Soldiers rapidly strapped on their combat helmets and positioned themselves behind their weapons while waiting for their next command.
As the Bravo Team Leader, Cole’s job is to ensure his four-man team is ready to keep the enemy at bay. As Cole was giving Bravo team last-minute reminders and directions about the mission, he was suddenly interrupted by the sound of an automatic rifle. Within seconds, gunfire lit up the night like the Fourth of July.
As the trench began to warm up from the adrenaline of Soldiers and the heat of the weapons, a command “Cease fire! Conserve ammo!” sounded down the line. Geronimo had disappeared back into the woods.
The thought of easing-off the enemy infuriated these Soldiers, since some of them had already been ‘wounded’ by Geronimo, but they unenthusiastically obeyed…it was an order.
The silence in the trench was staggering compared to the thunderous, nonstop gunfire for what seemed to last forever, but really lasted for less than a minute. In that moment, the chirping of crickets and the croaking of the frogs sounded to be on the same decibel level as the sounding of an air horn.
Then the familiar ringing of automatic rifle fire sounded again. Geronimo was coming back.
This was the moment Charlie Company had been waiting for. Close combat toe-to-toe with Geronimo and determined to prevent them from advancing to Batoor. Hits were scored against each side. When MILES scores a hit it makes the sound similar to a smoke detector going off in a hallway - constant, loud, and annoying.
You could still hear the Soldiers’ MILES gear going off to let them know they’d been hit. The annoying sound of it echoed throughout the trench and motivated the remaining Soldiers to keep fighting. The faded beep reminded them that their numbers were dwindling and only a few were still able to fight. But the ones who weren’t burdened by the sound of their chest beeping, they could keep going. And they kept going for three more hours.
Three hours of battle feels like three seconds. Three hours of battle also feels like three years. When your eyes are glued behind a rifle and your ears are ringing like there’s an alarm clock stuck inside your head for hours, time is an illusion and the only thing that matters is stopping Geronimo. Some of Charlie Company made it without being hit; most did not. But the mission wasn’t just to avoid becoming a casualty. It was to stop the enemy from advancing.
Cole and his team didn’t make it out, but their efforts contributed to Geronimo’s difficulty by keeping them at bay for three hours. That was three hours of persistent gunfire, three hours of anti-tank missiles lighting up the night sky, three hours of enemy smoke invading the trench, and three hours of hearing the beeping MILES indicating a hit.
Cole, his men, and the other Soldiers of Charlie Company won’t soon forget those three hours. It was only training but very realistic training. Those three hours were invigorating and demanding. Those three hours were traumatic. Those three hours were unforgettable, and they were the end of Charlie Company’s fight night. Geronimo finally made it to Batoor but they paid a high price for the trip.
GUNFIGHT ON ROUTE ORANGE
Two miles south of Batoor, Spc. Newton Bravo stared at razor wire and a dusty gravel road through the video display of his remotely-controlled .50 caliber machine gun. He patiently waited for Geronimo to come into his crosshairs when they attack.
The machine gun and the HUMM-V it is bolted to are the responsibility of Sgt. First Class Zachary McAnally of Benton, Arkansas. He is a Platoon Sergeant in Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry, an Anti-Armor company. His platoon is dug in a defensive position waiting for Geronimo.
McAnally’s platoon is part of Bravo Company’s defensive plan that is intended to block Geronimo from getting into the 1st Battalion’s area which protects the fictitious country of Atropia. Geronimo is expected to have armored vehicles and well-armed infantrymen. Delta company and Bravo Company’s combined strength are set up on two adjacent roads on Route Orange in the piney woods of Fort Polk.
Capt. Alan Thompson, Bravo Company’s commander, is the mastermind of this defense. Wire, logs, muscle and grit come together to build his defense. Thompson has been without sleep for much of the past week and he hasn’t seen a shower or cell phone for just as long. His spirits, however, are still high.
“I’ve got some surprises waiting for them,” says Thompson. “We are a little understrength but I’m going to play music to psych them out during the attack, and the engineers have a few things for Geronimo too.”
Those things are booby traps made up of trip wire and lights emplaced by Staff Sgt. James Harmon from Harrisburg, Arkansas, a Combat Engineer from the 239th Brigade Engineer Battalion.
“I never stop working,” says Harmon. “I got ‘em all put out to help the infantry,” referring to 25 booby traps hidden in the weeds and woods in front of their position.
As the sun goes down the troops refine their positions and prepare their weapons. It is another hot evening in Central Louisiana with temperatures in the low 90’s and uncomfortably high humidity. The temperature will drop a little as the night takes over and the full moon begins to shine in a cloudless night.
At 9pm the machine guns roar in the distance. As quickly as it began, the firing stops and the sounds of crickets take over. And so Fight Night begins for Delta and Bravo.
An enemy helicopter flies low and slow overhead in an effort to locate Bravo Company and any other friendly element masked by the pine trees. There are several clusters of ‘good guys’ in the area.
Time slowly progresses as the occasional sound of machine gun fire echoes through the forest. Geronimo is probing to find out where the 39th’s positions are. The gunfire indicates that, “yep, we found one.”
At 10:40 McAnally’s machine gun opens up with a roar. Geronimo is crossing the road in front of his position. Another machine gun joins the fight.
And so does Thompson’s music. A loudspeaker blasts a combination of European techno-pop and American heavy metal music to add a symphony of chaos to the night air. The music and machine guns continue for several minutes until this attack ends.
Between the two guns, hundreds of rounds are fired at Geronimo. Their fire is effective and stops Geronimo in their tracks.
The whistling sound from Geronimo’s MILES gear indicates a ‘kill.’ The field is filled with the sounds of multiple high-pitched sensors. McAnally’s guns stopped this attack but he has to be ready for more.
Again, crickets take over for the guns as the exercise umpires re-cock Geronimo so they can try again.
An hour goes by when a fire marker, another one of JRTC’s battlefield effects replicators, drives his ATV up to Bravo Company’s position and stops. He drops 9 artillery simulators on the road. They explode one after another to simulate an artillery attack. Geronimo has called in ‘indirect fire’ to B Co’s position. The men drop for cover.
Geronimo continues to probe Bravo company’s lines for several hours. Moments of machine gun blasts, annoying music are mixed with vehicle engine noises and the crunching of boots stomping in the forest. Top that off with the bellows of rough men yelling infantry commands. You can’t see much in the dark forest but you can certainly hear it.
After all is done, Geronimo keeps hammering at Bravo and Delta until they can hold the line no more. The final attack introduces an armored vehicle and more enemy troops that overwhelm the defenses. Even the sound of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In the U.S.A.” over the loudspeakers has no effect. Geronimo wins.
Lt. Col. Todd Sevier, a battalion commander, said, “JRTC just finds a way to suck the life out of you.” And that is just what happened.
The men are defeated, but in reality, they win because this is world class training. Although they are tired and smelly, they had a front row seat at one of the best training environments an American Soldier could be in. The bullets aren’t real, but the lessons are.
And now they roll over in the dirt and sleep. Fight Night is over, Geronimo is gone, and a hot new day begins in the piney woods of JRTC.
| Date Taken: | 07.30.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 07.30.2021 16:40 |
| Story ID: | 402153 |
| Location: | FORT POLK, LA, US |
| Web Views: | 604 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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