Photo By Staff Sgt. Alejandro Lucero | Gun crews from 2nd Battalion, 222nd Field Artillery Regiment, 65th Field Artillery...... read more read more
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BOISE - To ‘strike while the iron is hot’ is an idiom meaning to act decisively and take advantage when an opportunity arises. The image is from a blacksmith shop, the smith can shape iron only by striking it with a hammer while it is red hot. Quick decisions follow careful forethought and with the proper technique, resources and material becomes precision instrumentation. This past summer, the training grounds at Orchard Combat Training Center, Idaho (OCTC), became the kiln for one of America’s most lethal assets, as the 65th Field Artillery Brigade, Utah National Guard, known colloquially as “America’s Thunder.” The 65th FAB coordinated and commanded Western Strike 22, a large-scale, multi-state, field-artillery training exercise that included multiple battalions, military disciplines, some of the most advanced weaponry in the U.S. Army, and incorporated nearly 1,800 Soldiers from across the United States.
“The 65th FAB has spent 15 months planning and preparing for Western Strike 22, which will focus on mastery of the fundamentals at the platoon and squad level in preparation for large-scale combat operations,” said Col. Shawn Fuellenbach, commander of the 65th FAB. “My training objective for America’s Thunder is to build lethal, cohesive teams that are highly trained and disciplined, ready to fight and win.”
While training for Western Strike 22 was multifaceted and complex, simply getting there was one of the biggest challenges. The issue of amassing nearly 2,000 Soldiers from multiple coasts to greater Boise, along with millions of dollars worth of equipment, armament, and vehicles was a massive undertaking. Everything needed to be accounted for and/or transported, down to the essentials such as food and fuel.
Hundreds of military vehicles were transported to Ada County, Idaho by aircraft, truck, and train. Massive tracked vehicles were moved via rail, while aviation units flew assets to the training center and countless tactical vehicles lined the interstates leading to OCTC in the latter part of May and early June. Long standing plans for movement were put into place in the year leading up to the event, however changes had to be made on the fly and in real time to place all the pieces where they needed to be.
“No plan survives first contact,” said Cpt. Joshua Moody, planning and exercise officer for the 65th FAB. “We had a majestic plan of how to get everyone to OCTC. We also had big plans on how we were going to house everyone. But once we arrived on the ground, we had to shift and make adjustments.” he said.
One adjustment was finding bed space for nearly 2,000 Soldiers. There were around 950 bunks in place and during the first and last nights, units had to improvise with large tents, cots, and even using vehicles as temporary housing. “Col. Fuellenbach, one of his tenants, is to allow troops to solve problems at the lowest level,” said Moody. “Our units made adjustments and performed flawlessly and created a theater type scenario. It worked out fantastic.”
Transportation and movement is a key indicator of the fitness of a unit. Commanders are evaluated on the ability of a unit to move camp, and successful accomplishment of this step is paramount in the measures they use to evaluate their troops.
“We had certain items for readiness that we needed to achieve,” said Lt. Col. Adam Ashworth, executive officer, 65th FAB. “Leveraging transportation, such as rail is a mission-essential task that we can meet and evaluate ourselves on.”
Following a day in makeshift lodging, line units began to traverse their way across the training area. Clouds of dust followed large convoys as tracked vehicles seemingly floated over the soft dirt which gave the appearance of flowing water cascading off the massive treads.
While daytime highs remained mostly temperate in the Idaho desert, action on the ground and in air began to heat up eventually reaching inferno levels as artillery and missile crews obliterated and pummeled the sagebrush filled landscape over nine awe-inspiring days. Heavy artillery from M109 Paladins pounded the earth, creating clouds on the horizon as high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) missiles screeched through the air leaving “rooster tails” in their wake.
The exercise was more than just booms and bombs. There was a practical element involved. Observer-Controllers (OC) from 189th Infantry Brigade, First Army, surrounded Guard Soldiers during the exercise working as both an oppositional force, but also as an evaluating partner.
“We love our National Guard guys. They’re also civilians. They have their own jobs and they come out and do an additional job for the state,” said 1st Lt. Denise Blackmon, an infantry officer and Army Ranger with First Army. “Their service is unique in a special way. We want to make sure that their training is as good as they need it to be for this short period of time that we have them.” she said.
Throughout the exercise, OC’s placed pieces on the chessboard and created situations that provided training partnerships and efficiencies for both the Guard Soldiers and the Active Duty troops on the ground. “We’re basically the ‘bad guys’,” said Blackmon. “We go out and set up with our OC’s. They take us out, do recon, and now we know the situation. We know where they (65th elements) are going to set up, we know how we’re going to attack them.”
The situation provides training efficiency because it is accomplishing a dual role. Guard Soldiers receive real-world training experience fighting against a worthy adversary, and First Army Soldiers get the opportunity to sharpen their skills in an environment that mirrors combat.
“They’re (189th Infantry, First Army) our quick reaction force for the Army,” Blackmon continued. “They’re supposed to deploy within 90 days. So we’re training up to do that.”
In a blacksmith’s shop, there are specific tools designated to achieve the desired outcome. Iron sharpens iron, and during Western Strike 22, military units of all disciplines worked together extensively to build each other up. Logistical and human resource companies, maintenance platoons, aviation units, combat engineers, and even special forces Soldiers trained on their respective craft learning how to work together across trades and disciplines during the event.
“It’s kind of understanding other elements’ language,” said Col. Christine Brooks, commander of the 734th Regional Support Group, Iowa National Guard. “So we can more easily integrate and be effective on the battlefield.” “Being able to exercise in an environment such as this–on a larger scale–keeps them fresh,” Brooks continued. “Fresh with understanding what their task is and what they need to do. It refines things for them. So they can be that combat multiplier.”
Creating familiarity between elements is a benefit to a large operation such as Western Strike 22. Allowing units who don’t often see each other, to be in the fight together, builds cohesion in the event of an actual deployment. “Being able to come out and work with the Active Duty Army and other National Guards allows us to build networks,” said Cpt. Eric How, an engineering officer with the Iowa National Guard. “We find out what assets we have we can help them out with, and vice versa, we find out how they can support us,” he said.
“It allows us to see how they operate,” added Blackmon. “And it allows them to see how we operate.” Working together is the key to the puzzle.
“It’s important just so that the units can operate together,” said Second Lt. Steven Church, an artillery officer with 5th Battalion, 113th Field Artillery Regiment (HIMARS), North Carolina National Guard. “That’s what it really boils down to, everybody is cohesive. We can provide fires for units that require it, that need it. From the operational standpoint, that is what needs to be done.”
On the battlefield, building partnerships between components lends itself to creating efficiencies between pieces. Knowing your partner’s capabilities and intentions leads to greater lethality at all levels.
“Every unit has their own standard operating procedures, and their own way of doing things,” explained Rhodes. “It’s good to get out here and see how other units work. They learn stuff from us, we learn stuff from them, that is one of the most beneficial pieces to this is that we get out here and we can interact with other units.” he said.
When a blacksmith reaches his or her endstate, it means raw elements have come together to be shaped and sculpted to a desired goal. Throughout Western Strike 22, commanders forged and sharpened their respective units to reach the required lethality to be able to fight and win our nation’s wars.
“We did accomplish what I wanted to do,” said Fuellenbach. “My goal was to focus our training at the platoon level and below. We wanted multiple sets and reps to build our cohesive teams at the platoon level, but at the same time, we wanted to exercise our battalion and brigade staff and engage them as well.”
Fuellenbach said he wanted to provide multi-echelon training scenarios and have Soldiers respond appropriately to tasks at each level to increase proficiency from the lowest levels and bridge gaps that occur naturally due to distance and geographical boundaries in a brigade that spans both coasts.
“Being able to pull in our organic units from North Carolina and California is something we can’t always do,” he explained. “Doing that this year really increased the strength of our partnerships with those units.” Fuellenbach also praised the First Army and the National Guards from Idaho, Iowa, and Utah, noting that without those partners, Western Strike 22 could not happen.
“We had elements from every major command in Utah there either participating or part of the support staff,” he said. “That was huge.”
Sharpening the lethality of America’s Thunder was Fuellenbach’s desired endgame, doing so while maintaining a level of efficiency and practicality was the requirement.
“We needed to do this safely,” he explained. “Bringing that many people together with the various steps, rail, line haul, flights, and everyone converging on the OCTC over about 48 hours — executing all of that safely was a big priority. Once we got on the ground and situated in our respective positions safely, our focus was on building highly trained lethal platoons.”
Lethal platoons require equal parts planning and execution. The Soldier needs marching orders to move. Planning, movement, and conducting operations by the battle staff parlayed directly into the success and lethality of the units on the ground.
“We go to warfighter exercises where people and equipment are part of the simulation and it’s easy to move a simulated unit,” said Ashworth. “This is the first time, in a long time, that we have had people and equipment on the ground that we had to control and it was a test.”
The practicality and tangible factor of using real people and real equipment played an important role in the training value and experience in planning, execution, and tracking, said Ashworth.
“It really taught us some good lessons on good planning and good execution, because the human element is not just an icon on a screen. We’re dealing with real people and real equipment, that was one of the biggest takeaways,” he said.
Working together and moving real people not only paid dividends to the brigade staff, but also painted a clearer picture to those on the ground controlling fire teams.
“It’s great for (brigade staff) to be able to utilize different units in varying capacities, mission dictating,” said Staff Sgt. Daven Amiden, a gun chief with 2nd Battalion, 222nd Field Artillery Regiment, Utah National Guard. “But it also expands our horizon and our capabilities on what we can train on.”
““Even our guys down on the gun line, they get a chance to see all these units and see how it all comes together,” added First Sgt. Jason Mellor, also of the 222nd. “It’s been very beneficial to see the big picture of how our military operations are carried out.”
Seeing the big picture, and living in the moment provides crucial training that simply can’t be simulated. “Everytime we get out here we get to exercise these guns in a new place and new conditions and places we haven’t been to before,” said Cpt. Joe Rhodes, an artillery officer with 1st Battalion, 145th Field Artillery Regiment, Utah National Guard. “That always builds resilience in a Soldier and that will always make you more lethal on the battlefield.”
The human element provided command staff the opportunity to conduct training as close to an actual deployment as possible.
“The key task for us as a brigade was to be able to perform expeditionary deployment operations,” said Fuellenbach. “And to be able to synchronize our fire support assets at the battalion and brigade level.” Fuellenbach said that there is a very real and direct connection and benefit to the enhanced mission readiness provided by Western Strike 22, as two radar platoons from the 65th FAB are preparing for deployments in the near future.
“We focused some training on them to make sure they got the training they needed to be ready to deploy later this year,” he said.
A skilled blacksmith hones his or her craft through repetition and practice. Time and again, raw materials face the elements to come out stronger on the other side. Iron ore, when shaped and formed, creates functional tools, precision instruments, and lethal weaponry. The iron of America’s Thunder is hot, and Western Strike 22 forged the brigade, along with many partner organizations into a ready and lethal fighting force, who when summoned, stand ready to answer the nation’s call.
| Date Taken: | 06.20.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2026 13:59 |
| Story ID: | 566232 |
| Location: | BOISE, IDAHO, US |
| Web Views: | 25 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Iron is Hot: Western Strike '22 forges America's Thunder, by SFC Tim Beery, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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