Photo By Sgt. Tyler Brock | Maj. Brett Reichert, executive officer assigned to 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team,...... read more read more
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FORT CARSON, Colo. - This past month, the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division executed Operation Arete. During this three week training, the entire Raider Brigade synchronized all available assets to ensure they are postured for the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California later this summer. This training also increased the "Raider" Brigade’s lethality and their ability to fight and win our nation’s wars.
“The purpose of Operation Arete was to ensure the brigade is postured to deploy as a strategic, international partner against near-peer adversaries in Large Scale Combat Operations,” said Col. Andrew Steadman, commander assigned to 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
However, even though the operation lasted three weeks, the planning process far exceeded that. This is an aspect that Cpt. Kyle Paradis, the officer in charge of Operation Arete assigned to 1st SBCT, 4th Inf. Div, was very familiar with. From securing the land space, to calculating ammunition, to multiple rehearsals, the brigade staff began their planning process months in advance.
“The planning began back in November during the Staff Field Exercise," Paradis said. “All the staff came together in the Mission Training Center [at Fort Carson, Colorado.]. We talked about how to utilize both Fort Carson and Pinon Canyon for this exercise.”
Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS,) a 235,000 plus acre U.S. Army base, sits 150-miles south of Fort Carson, Colorado. The PCMS allows large units, such as a brigade, to train in realistic environments while also training for success in combat. Paradis along with the brigade staff saw this large training area as an opportunity to conduct force-on-force training.
“The commander [Col. Steadman] didn’t want them [Soldiers] to fight under the assumption that they would win,” said Paradis, “so on the six training lanes we had a thinking enemy that sometimes won the objective.”
With this force-on-force training, Soldiers and their commanders needed a way to calculate their lethality. Raider Soldiers and the simulated enemy needed to know whether or not they hit their targets without using live rounds. This is where the Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES) gear came in.
“We maintain a warehouse that has facilities with training simulators as well as equipment called MILES. Essentially, it is a form of laser tag, and it saves on ammunition and allows for some force-on-force actions,” said Robert Forsyth, a Training Aid and Devices Simulation Instructor at the Training Support Center at Fort Carson.
As impressive as an effective plan and high end technology is, nothing can get done without the sustainment pieces of the mission. Sustaining training like this is not possible without support within the brigade. The 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st SBCT, 4th Inf. Div. (Pack Horse) supported the brigade during Operation Arete by extending their reach and setting conditions through logistics while ensuring that every Raider and their equipment was in the fight. The Pack Horse battalion saw this as an opportunity to test the very first “cluster” Brigade Support Area (BSA.) A BSA serves as the personnel and logistics center of the maneuver brigade.
“Normally we do a consolidated BSA, which means all the companies and all the assets are in one giant BSA,” said Cpt. Coleman Merck, company commander assigned to 4th BSB, 1st SBCT, 4th Inf. Div. “Here we are doing a cluster approach. It protects us from indirect fire.”
The idea is that if one cluster takes a catastrophic hit, the remaining clusters can sustain the brigade. Additionally, the cluster approach allows assets, such as medical, maintenance, fuel, water and transportation to be mobilized. By mobilizing these assets, also known as nodes, the 4th BSB extends the operational reach of the brigade, according to Merck. With the battalions fully supported by the Pack Horse Soldiers, units can focus on creating lethal squads during training.
With ammunition in their weapons and fuel in their vehicles, the units then went through multiple lanes allowing their Soldiers to become better multi disciplined teams that prepare for Large Scale Combat Operations. This invaluable training gave Leaders another tool to ensure that their formations were trained and disciplined while also achieving cohesiveness. They know that a culture of discipline is the foundation of readiness.
“All training is important, no matter if it’s here or at Fort Carson. It’s all a mentality. You’ve got to take what training you get and apply it to yourself,” said Staff Sgt. Sean Davis, a weapons squad leader assigned to 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1st SBCT, 4th Inf. Div. “It’s up to you to make it what it is and to try and make everyone around you more lethal.”
Through planning, implementing helpful technology, sustainment, and the heart to get after it, the Raider brigade successfully worked towards becoming a more synchronized unit. This rings true not only at the Soldier level, but at the brigade staff level as well.
“For the brigade staff, we had support from our Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN,) Electronic Warfare (EW) Cyper and Electronic Activities (CEMA,) our Battalion Ammunition Officer (BAO.) They all started speaking maneuver through this [operation,]” said Paradis. “So, unexpected but a product that will help us at NTC is all of these enabling functions now are speaking our language and coming together as a team.”
When all was said and done, the Raider brigade proved why they are first to fight. Although faced with rain, hail, sleepless nights, and stressful conditions, the Raider brigade drove away from PCMS a more lethal and cohesive team, ready to fight and win against any obstacle or force put in their way.
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| Date Taken: | 06.04.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.27.2023 13:05 |
| Story ID: | 447801 |
| Location: | PINON CANYON MANEUVER SITE, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 92 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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