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101st Kicks Off Operation Lethal Eagle III
Story by Pfc. Brianna Frank, 40th Public Affairs Detachment
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) kicked off Operation Lethal Eagle III (OLE III), a three-week division-wide training exercise at Fort Campbell, Ky, on Aug. 1, 2023.
OLE III will run until Aug. 22 and will see Soldiers conducting various training exercises such as air assault operations, small unit maneuvers, live fire training, artillery firing exercises and aerial gunnery.
1st Lt. Cameron Irvine, a network operations officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, says that training in the field is necessary for Soldiers in the division, especially those who haven’t experienced an exercise like this before.
“It is a time to work together as a team and be able to test our systems,” said Irvine. “Just having our Soldiers from the lowest level to the highest level working together, which isn’t something we get to do often, I think is special.”
Spc. Adrien Schippers-Romero, a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Specialist also with Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, said that he thinks the training opportunity is unique to the 101st.
“I’ve been to the field with other units, like when I was in Korea,” said Schippers-Romero. “But I think Operation Lethal Eagle uses skills we specifically learn here.”
Irvine also said that the past two Operation Lethal Eagle exercises have respectively helped the division in different ways and that he’s excited to see what Soldiers will be able to take away from this iteration.
Some of the essential skills Irvine said he took away from the past operations include being able to efficiently communicate in different geographic areas and getting ready to deploy forces under short notice.
“OLE 1 definitely helped to prepare us before we went overseas,” said Irvine. “We were able to see that we could function as a division, even being in separate places.”
Irvine said he thinks that training in a field environment helps to grow leadership skills, as well. He thinks it is vital to experience training such as this operation at different levels to understand every part of it.
“As you progress and go through different command positions everything is different,” he said. “From the company level to the brigade and battalion levels, being able to operate out in the field is super important.”
Schippes-Romero said that he is excited to spend this time getting to put necessary Soldier skills into practice. He said that not all skills get to be utilized on a regular basis so it is important to stay sharp on them.
“It’s fun to just be in the field and do some of the things we don’t get to do often,” he said. “I like just being out here and getting experience with the guys.”
Irvine agreed that the experience and camaraderie of being in the field are the best part of the operation. He said that he thinks the memories and bonds that are made throughout training outweigh the bad parts.
“You make the most fond memories being in the field,” he said. “Sometimes you have to embrace the suck but I think those are the times you cherish the most.”
| Date Taken: | 08.01.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 08.02.2023 12:31 |
| Story ID: | 450475 |
| Location: | FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 1,169 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 101st Kicks Off Operation Lethal Eagle III, by SGT Brianna Badder, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
