Photo By Master Sgt. Thomas Duval | Illumination rounds light up Observer Position 6 at Donnelly Training Area, Alaska as...... read more read more
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FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska - As the snow begins to cover the Alaska Range and sub-zero temperatures become a constant in the lives of Alaskans, soldiers from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Fort Wainwright are continuing to show their intestinal fortitude as they battle the extreme temperatures head on.
That motivation took soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1-25th SBCT into the arctic cold during a two-week team leader course Nov. 29 to Dec. 10.
According to Lt. Col. Brian A. Payne, 1-5th Commander, developing young soldiers into team leaders is an important part of any successful mission.
"Team leaders are the lynchpin in the chain of command," Payne said.
During the team leader course soldiers participated in a number of classroom exercises covering physical fitness, support by fire and standard operating procedures for a variety of tasks.
"We wanted to establish the standard operating procedures across the battalion focusing in on the team leaders and platoon leaders," said 1-5th Command Sgt. Maj. Ernest D. Bowen. "We got a lot of good feedback and were able to take away a lot of lessons learned."
The future team leaders used the techniques learned during the classroom exercises to build cohesion and improve proficiency before entering the field exercise portion.
The arctic battle between the soldiers and the environment covered a large amount of terrain but the highlight was a live-fire exercise inside a remote village, heavily populated with a green enemy made of plastic.
Although the village and its simulated enemy, at Donnelly Training Area's Bondsteel Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise site, posed no immediate threat to the soldiers, each team found a way to turn the scenario into a realistic learning experience.
"The soldiers were motivated to put what we learned into action," said Cpl. Rafael Santos, an infantryman assigned to A Company 1-5th. "The training allowed a lot of our new soldiers to see what it's like to be a team leader."
After successfully eliminating the enemy, soldiers loaded up their equipment and fought deeper into the woods as they moved on to the next challenge: land navigation.
Holding the compass steady appeared to be a challenge as Mother Nature continued to test the soldiers' commitment to the task. But they persevered, rushing through the mounds of powdery snow, successfully finding each specified point.
"We put the Arctic back in Arctic Wolves," Bowen said, referring to the brigade mascot.
The 1-5th soldiers took a brief moment to enjoy their success before moving on to a mortar night fire.
During the night fire, soldiers illuminated the sky with 60 mm and 81 mm mortar rounds. Mortars are an important weapon for close-in support during combat operations.
For the snow-covered soldiers, the last flare signaled an end to a long day and another day down in a long line of challenging obstacles.
"There was a lot of challenges put on young soldiers trying to develop them into future team leaders in the United States Army," Capt. Michael Nolan, 1-5th assistant operations officer, said. "We wanted to build soldiers up to be strong leaders who could lead soldiers in combat."
The training came to a close over a hot grill, as soldiers enjoyed a much anticipated barbecue, which Nolan said is important to improve camaraderie and team cohesion.
"Our team leaders have set us up for success for future missions," Bowen said.
Training future leaders has become a main focal point for many of the soldiers assigned to the 1-25th SBCT as they enter the final stretch before going to the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Calif., early next year.
| Date Taken: | 12.13.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 12.13.2010 14:02 |
| Story ID: | 61895 |
| Location: | FORT WAINWRIGHT, AK, US |
| Web Views: | 472 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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