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Training at Fort Bragg for upcoming deployments

Courtesy Photo | Paratroopers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd...... read more read more

FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES

02.21.2007

Courtesy Story

1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs

By Pfc. Jaime Avila
1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs Office

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - One by one, a team of Paratroopers rushed into a dimly lit room with their weapons drawn and their minds focused on taking down the enemy waiting inside to take them down.

Everyday for two weeks Paratroopers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team 82nd Airborne Division conducted house clearing exercises in an effort to prepare themselves for upcoming deployments.

"It's a benefit to us because this way we learn how to enter and clear a house without being scared, because we know what we are doing," said Pfc. Edward S. Krutz, a rifleman from Company A., 2-504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 82nd Airborne Division, who participated in the training.

The first portion of the training exercise required troops work as a team to overcome the obstacles that were put ahead of them. The last 3 days of the training exercise focused on the individual Paratrooper's physical strength and their marksmanship proficiency.

The troops went through a number of live fire ranges followed by a 7.6 road march with a full battle load. A full battle load includes a 45-60 pound ruck-sack, individual body armor or IBA, Army Combat Helmet, or ACH and their weapon.

"The last event for this exercise is really a check on our Soldiers' level of physical fitness and their marksmanship proficiency," said Lt. Col Mark L. Stock commander of the 2- 504th PIR.

After they finished the road march, they dropped their ruck-sack, picked up four clips of ammunition and moved to the range.

"The only thing they do not have with them, and I stress that to them, is that they don't have their basic load of ammunition which is quite a bit of weight," said Sgt. Maj. Mark D. Sturdevant, senior enlisted servicemember for 2-504th PIR.

According to the leadership, these types of exercises are giving individual Paratroopers a foundation they can build on.

"What we want them to walk away with is, 'Where am I at as a team member, where is the squad at as a team and for them to grow from that foundation,'" said Sturdevant.

The troops go through these exercises with live simulation rounds, known as simmunition. The rounds leave marks and cause pain, but the troopers who've been hit by one say it makes the training that much more realistic.

"It kind of hits home when you get hit by one of those things it doesn't pierce the skin but it hurts real bad and it leaves a nice little mark on you and it gives you a more realistic experience," said Krutz

Although this training is not the real deal it comes pretty close. Most of their training comes straight on the advice of Soldiers with combat experience.

"When we execute the simmunitions training out on range 74 we're talking about multi-buildings with multi-rooms and multi-stories which add a much higher level of complexity," said Stock.

Thanks to the built in cameras inside the buildings, troopers and their leaders can look back on their training. It's a tool they use for their After Action Reports, or AAR's, to help them identify their strengths and weaknesses.

At the end of the training, most of the guys say they go home with a sense of accomplishment, knowing the training they just received might one day save someone's life.