Photo By Sgt. Kandi Huggins | Spc. Nathaniel Dahleim, infantryman, 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Company D, 1st Battalion,...... read more read more
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CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE WARRIOR, Iraq – “Diablos” of Company D, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, attached to 1st Advise and Assist Task Force, 1st Infantry Division, from Fort Riley, Kan., held a squad challenge at Contingency Operating Site Warrior, Kirkuk, Feb. 11.
The second contest held by the company since deploying in support of Operation New Dawn, the Diablo Company Squad Challenge tested the physical and technical abilities of soldiers of Company D.
According to 1st Sgt. Philson Tavernir, a Queens, N.Y. native, and first sergeant of Company D, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, the competition is a fitness challenge designed to test the muscular strength, cardiorespiratory endurance and tactical knowledge of soldiers conducting the advise, train and assist mission.
A multi-task event, the squad challenge featured push-ups, sit-ups, stress shooting and an infantry tactics quiz. Between each event, soldiers conducted a forced foot march carrying a 50-pound rucksack.
“It was designed to be a fun competition that builds team spirit,” said Tavernir. “The physical portions of the challenge engaged their fitness level and conditioning, while the exam tested their knowledge of the basic skills and tasks they should know.”
“As an infantryman, it’s our job to close the distance between … the enemy and destroy them. If we can’t do that, then we can’t fight; and that’s why this challenge was more engaging than the first one, and encompassed all the basics of our duties and responsibilities as infantrymen.”
Conducting the advise and assist mission in U.S. Division-North, while working with their Iraqi security forces counterparts, Tavernir acknowledged, the soldiers of Diablos Company are not conducting a traditional infantry mission.
Nonetheless, the need to maintain proficiency in infantry skills remains critical, he said, especially since U.S. soldiers must set the example as they train the Iraqi army to properly conduct infantry tasks on a daily basis.
The challenge began with the push-up event held behind the company headquarters. soldiers had two minutes to correctly execute a minimum of 50 push-ups in order to contribute to their squad’s combined score.
Completing the push-ups, the soldiers conducted a forced march to the first technical challenge, the weapons assembly site. The squads marched approximately eight miles from start to finish during the challenge, which contributed to their overall finishing time and score.
During the weapons assembly, Company D soldiers assembled either an M4 rifle, M249 squad automatic weapon or the M240B machine gun in less than 90 seconds. Each soldier had to perform a successful functions check after reassembling the weapon.
Staff Sgt. Derek Vess, a Greenville, S.C. native, and infantry squad leader, Company D, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regtiment, said he thought his squad of soldiers would face their biggest challenge at the weapon assembly site.
“We went over the events prior to the challenge,” said Vess. “I had my guys practice assembling the various weapons systems in 60 seconds, because if they could accomplish it in that time frame, I knew they could do it within the 90 seconds that were allotted for the challenge.”
“We had a few stumbles on the M240, but it wasn’t anything my guys didn’t have the confidence to push through and continue on with the mission at hand.”
After they cleared the first event, Diablos soldiers marched to the sit-up event, and then to the range for stress shooting before finishing with an infantry tactics quiz.
Vess said he loved the quiz portion of the challenge, testing their
military knowledge and experience as an infantryman.
“It not only built all-around confidence, but prepared [the soldiers] to step out of their comfort zone, while taking them back to the basics of them knowing what they are doing,” Vess said.
After the challenge, the Diablos soldiers rested and conducted maintenance on their gear, while the company leadership tallied the scores from the different squads.
The scores revealed that Vess and his soldiers of 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Company D, won the challenge.
“It was good to win,” said Vess. “We went into it feeling good. My squad was motivated to accomplish the goals we set, and drove themselves and each other past any limitations they may have thought they had.”
“We performed as a team, and we finished as a team,” said Spc. William Martin, a Porum, Okla. native, and infantryman, 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Company D.
Vess and soldiers of 2nd Squad will each receive an Army Achievement Medal for besting the competition during the challenge, said Tavernir.
The squad who placed second will receive a certificate of achievement, Tavernir said, and third place will receive a “Devil” brigade coin from the brigade command sergeant major, Command Sgt. Maj. John Jones.
Tavernir said Company D leadership geared the awards for the specialists and privates in the squads.
“It’s a small incentive to help the soldiers who need points for the promotion board as well as distinguish them from their peers, especially whenever we redeploy, and others can see how many ribbons they’ve earned while out here,” said the first sergeant.
Tavernir also said Diablos Company is planning for another challenge, and hopes they will be able to host the third team-building event before redeploying later this year.
“I think it’s something units should do during deployments, because it allows our soldiers to participate in positive activities that build teams and motivates them,” said Tavernir. “It fights complacency while making our soldiers strive for something else.”
| Date Taken: | 02.16.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 02.18.2011 06:49 |
| Story ID: | 65656 |
| Location: | CONTINGENCY OPERATING STATION WARRIOR, IQ |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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