BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division Resolute Support Sustainment Brigade, executed a base defense exercise at their compound on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Mar. 29.
The Soldiers trained on several key tasks, such as treating and evacuating casualties, establishing observation posts and executing troop leading procedures.
“In total, we trained on 47 individual tasks and 50 battle drills,” said Capt. Cory Sullivan, the HHC commander supervising the entire event.
Several senior Soldiers with previous combat experience oversaw the planning of the exercise and evaluated troops during, ensuring they were performing their tasks correctly and to standard.
Several teams of Soldiers set up observation posts on top of the buildings on the compound, while other teams patrolled the entry points and reacted to simulated attacks. They treated and evacuated casualties, and sent reports via radio to their leaders. The exercise culminated with a car bomb attack on the front gate.
“I was very excited with the motivation level that everyone put into it,” said Sullivan. “We had no blanks to fire, no artillery simulators, no smoke; we basically had to build the scenario in people’s heads.”
Sullivan said this exercise is the first big step in preparing for a large-scale live-fire exercise early next year, at the unit’s home station of Fort Stewart, Ga. He said even though these Soldiers are already deployed, it’s important that they keep training on their basic Soldier skills to prepare for whatever their next mission will be.
“We’re going to be much better prepared to take on sustainment operations anywhere in the world because we took the time to train now,” he said.