FORT HOOD, Texas — First Battalion, 143rd Infantry Regiment isn’t for the faint-hearted. In addition to being the only airborne infantry unit in the National Guard, the 1-143rd is also part of the Army’s Associated Unit Pilot program, which pairs active-duty and reserve-component units.
During a recent company live-fire exercise Oct. 18-20, 2018, the unit’s hard-charging ethos was on full display. For active-duty units, such an exercise may be relatively routine, but for a National Guard unit, it marked an impressive undertaking that not only demonstrates the AUP program in action but also provides lessons for National Guard units facing mounting training requirements.
“Few infantry battalions will have the opportunity to conduct a company-level live-fire exercise, let alone during an IDT (inactive-duty training) as compared with a CTC (combat training center) rotation,” 1-143rd Commander Lt. Col. William M. Gorby said. “The effort of the NCOs (non-commissioned officers) and officers of the 1-143 is the primary driving force that allowed [us] to accomplish this impressive task—especially for a third year in a row,” Gorby added.
Torrential rains didn’t stop the 1-143rd’s three companies from completing the certifying exercise, which centered on a scenario the unit created with both day and night iterations and several injects. With mud caked on their boots and uniforms, sleeping in rain-soaked tents, 1-143rd Soldiers navigated the course, with more than a dozen range safeties observing their every move. Although the 1-143rd planned to utilize attack aviation and unmanned aircraft systems to make it a true combined-arms exercise, Texas’s October weather scrapped those plans. Still, the live-fire exercise helped Soldiers achieve key training objectives, like conducting a deliberate company attack, military urban operations training and integrating indirect fire assets.
Maj. William Cowart, the battalion’s operations officer, said the unit’s high motivation is emblematic of the 1-143rd long before the AUP program began.
“This battalion has always attempted to run fast and hard, even before the AUP started. It was just a natural progression once we came into the AUP program, and we are continuing to do what we were already doing,” Cowart said.
The 1-143rd and its associated unit – the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, based in Vicenza, Italy – coordinate extensively on training exercises and day-to-day operations to ensure maximum synchronization. The 1-143rd training schedule includes a full slate for most active-duty units; a training schedule the battalion successfully accomplishes each year with its traditional National Guard force, often over drill weekends.
“The exercise conducted during the October IDT was a validating event for the battalion. Under the new Objective T guidance (a system that measures a unit’s deployment readiness), live-fire exercises are the required gates for validating some of the battalion mission-essential tasks. Additionally, the live-fire exercise improves lethality, enhances synchronization under fire and builds confidence for our paratroopers,” Gorby said.
1-143rd Soldiers worked in varying roles to support the exercise, and leaders developed additional concurrent training to maximize their time together. 2nd Lt. Aaron Hart, the battalion medical operations officer, had medics who weren’t supporting range operations carry fellow medics for one mile, stop and do a medical task and repeat, for a total of four miles.
“When the infantrymen see the medics are out training hard, it puts more faith in them. The exercise is an opportunity to show new medics the pace of the unit and what they’re all about,” Hart said. “For experienced medics, it’s reminding them what they’re capable of, what their job is, and how important their job is. We have to keep up with this unit,” he said.
Master Sgt. Hsiao Tsung Chao, a liaison officer from the 173rd, said that planning the exercise last year provided some helpful lessons to make the exercise a success. The experience also changed Chao’s outlook to account for underlying challenges and friction points National Guard units face.
“I’ve gotten a lot more perspective on and respect for the Guard. I just didn’t understand it from an active duty mindset,” Chao said. “These guys have day-to-day lives Monday through Friday. These guys genuinely want to be here in the unit. Because you have civilian jobs, it helps augment our limited resources and have seen it pay huge dividends out in the field.”
Every 1-143rd training event includes at least one representative from the 173rd, and the presence of liaison personnel ensures close coordination and understanding between the two units. Many Soldiers attribute the success of the AUP program to the immense collaboration between the 1-143rd and its AUP partner.
Chao believes the 173rd benefits tremendously from the AUP on the strategic level by integrating a third infantry battalion (the 1-143rd) to its combat power, something he called “a huge value-add.” He also points to the benefit of having longevity and continuity of personnel, compared to the active-duty force, which helps the 1-143rd maintain its high operational tempo, even with significant time and resource limitations.
“In the event we get called to do our warfighting functions, [the 173rd has] that third maneuver battalion to add to combat,” Chao said. “The 143rd is expected to meet a lot of the same objectives as the 173rd full-time training battalions, but we have way less training days. The airborne operations here are very streamlined. To be able to muster at 5 a.m. and then get to your departure airfield by 1200, and then six hours later, you’re jumping out of an airplane – that’s huge.”
In Cowart’s assessment, the 1-143rd has benefited from the AUP in terms of increased readiness. The 1-143rd does squad live-fire, platoon live-fire and company live-fire exercises every year, as well as a joint forcible entry exercises stateside, and overseas with multi-national partners. Cowart is quick to point out that he does not believe the 1-143rd is held to a different standard than other National Guard units, as all infantry units must meet the same requirements, but that the unit is simply expected to perform at a different rate because of its mission.
As the National Guard faces more training demands under Objective T, the 1-143rd offers helpful perspective for units grappling with the added strain. When the 1-143rd moved from a traditional National Guard training schedule to the more robust requirements of Objective T, the unit worked to do more events to engage with employers and families. Most importantly, with just a few weeks off between the unit’s training events, 1-143rd leaders impressed upon their Soldiers clear expectations so they can prepare themselves mentally, physically and with their families to hit the ground during training exercises to take advantage of every precious minute the unit has together.