Soldiers with 3673rd Ordnance Company, 415th Military Intelligence Battalion, 139th Regional Support Group, Louisiana National Guard conducted maintenance in support of exercise Combined Resolve XI, Dec. 3 - 11 at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany.
Exercise CBRXI gives the U.S. Army’s regionally allocated combat forces in Europe the opportunity to execute a combat training center rotation with a joint, multinational environment demonstrating their integration into U.S. Army Europe operations.
Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Scott, a noncommissioned officer in charge of the 3673rd maintenance shops in HTA said the Soldiers conducted the exercise as they would in a wartime situation.
“When it is wartime,” said Scott. “If the generator goes down, we have Soldiers that need lights, need hot water, and we have to get that [generator] up as soon as possible to get it back in the fight.”
Sgt. Ashley Boult, a wheeled vehicle mechanic with 3673rd said exercise CBRXI shows Soldiers their strength and weakness; it teaches them how to improve their skills and maintain combat readiness while working alongside partner nations.
As a National Guard unit, Soldiers of 3673rd do their job one weekend of every month, but CBRXI provided the opportunity for them to do their job on a daily basis, Scott said.
“It’s a big difference from doing this every day compared to just coming in one weekend a month,” Scott said. “You get to take a little bit more pride in what you are doing, and looking at the troops, they are eager and they want to learn. They are learning and they get hands-on at the same time.”
Boult said the unique thing about her unit is their readiness to respond to natural disasters in the state of Louisiana or the surrounding states.
“For the Soldiers to come here [HTA] and actually do their job and not a flood detail or some type of hurricane detail,” Boult said. “It is amazing to see what we learn in that one weekend a month. For us to come here and actually do it, it is just an amazing thing to see.”
Communication was key in maintaining enthusiasm for 3673rd who are committed and motivated to be a part of CBRXI.
You have to ensure your words and actions are the same, Boult said. Being honest to Soldiers is key to earning their trust and having a reliable team.
For some of the Soldiers, it is their first time being in Germany and working with the partner nations, it is a great learning experience, Scott said.
“Everybody enjoys being here, working together with the active duty Soldiers and the local nationals,” Boult said.
In support of CBRXI, 3673rd Soldiers demonstrated flexibility and proficiency.
“We have a motto, ‘The best in the boot, hands down,’” Scott said. “We live by that and we do it day in, day out. Everyone doesn’t have to do the 24 hour ops, so asking a Soldier to do that and for a Soldier to tell you, ‘I want to do it,’ that’s motivation itself and that lets the next Soldier know that if he or she can do it, I can do it as well.”