Photo By Staff Sgt. Rachel White | Lt. Col. Ronald Collins, brigade surgeon assigned to Headquarters & Headquarters...... read more read more
FORT POLK, La. – After 15 days in the sweltering Louisiana heat, the soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, and supporting units emerged from the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) rotation 25-08 with sharpened skills, battle-tested endurance, and a renewed focus for their upcoming deployment.
The brigade’s mission at JRTC was a complex, large-scale combat operation scenario simulating the defense of a partner nation against an invading force. Over nearly two weeks, the roughly 6,000 soldiers endured long hours, limited sleep, and unpredictable weather while executing their mission essential tasks list—attacking, moving to contact, defending, securing areas, and conducting air assaults.
Col. Eric Soults, the brigade commander, explained that while past training often mirrored counterinsurgency operations from the Global War on Terrorism, the LSCO framework focuses on near-peer threats and combat-heavy scenarios.
“Standards and discipline matter,” he said. “If you’re undisciplined in a LSCO environment, you’re going to be undisciplined in an Operation Inherent Resolve environment.”
The rotation also allowed soldiers to integrate with specialized units, including chemical defense teams, tactical psychological operations, and civil affairs, while introducing new capabilities such as handheld counter-drone devices.
“The fight against Unmanned Aerial Systems is really our main mission in OIR,” Soults said.
Soldiers were challenged – from limited water supplies to field sanitation issues, extreme heat, and the grind of continuous operations, leaders had to adapt quickly.
“The constraints and the environment make you have to think and change,” Soults said. “In a brigade-sized element, that doesn’t happen quickly… and then, you have an enemy who is fighting you.”
For Capt. Trang Pham, an infantry officer from Ankeny, Iowa, sometimes the small things kept morale high. “For me, it’s the shower when we get out of here,” she said. “Keep your eye on the prize.”
Soldiers also found strength in each other. “I would not get through this without my team,” said Sgt. Kalea Oftedahl, a human resources specialist from Decorah, Iowa. “I have the best team ever.”
Senior Iowa National Guard leaders visited during the exercise to motivate and thank the troops. “Your rotation was highly successful,” said Brig. Gen. Derek Adams, land component commander for Iowa.
“(The red bull patch) carries a lot of spirit de corps.” Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Strasser echoed that praise: “They’ve earned their recognition. The ‘ryder’ brigade is always on top.”
Looking back, Soults said the brigade grew significantly during the exercise. “Learning is winning, and winning is learning,” he said. “We showed a lot of progress… JRTC put us in a good place for the next mission.”
With rotation 25-08 complete, nearly 1,800 Red Bull soldiers now turn their focus to supporting Operation Inherent Resolve in the Middle East—bringing with them the hard-earned lessons of Louisiana to help ensure security, stability, and peace abroad.
(U.S. Army National Guard story by Staff Sgt. Rachel I. White)
| Date Taken: | 07.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.10.2025 03:50 |
| Story ID: | 545275 |
| Location: | FORT JOHNSON, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 135 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Red Bulls Sharpen Skills at JRTC Ahead of Middle East Mission, by SSG Rachel White, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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