Soldier
gets
big
picture
at
JWA
2019
U.S.
Army
Reserve
Spc.
Noah
Hunter
with
the
475th
Explosive
Hazards
Coordination
Cell,
(EHCC)
wants
the
best
of
both
worlds;
to
see
the
big
picture,
but
still
be
skillset
focused;
so
he
joined
his
fellow
Soldiers
“The
Krakens,”
at
Joint
Warfighting
Assessment
(JWA)
2019,
to
see
what
goes
on
before
and
after
the
boom.
Hunter
was
at
JWA
2019,
a
U.S.
and
multi-‐national
military
exercise
held
at
the
Yakima
Training
Center
and
Joint
Base
Lewis-‐McChord,
Washington,
April
26
to
May
10
as
a
combat
engineer
to
get
specific
in
his
training
and
he
wasn’t
about
to
take
training
for
granted.
Hunter
said,
“Right
now,
I’m
here
just
trying
to
sharpen
my
skills
as
a
combat
engineer.”
Lt.
Col.
Bart
Kemper,
475th
EHCC,
U.S.
Army
Reserve
commander
said,
“The
Krakens
are
training
on
the
latest
threats
as
part
of
their
overall
force
protection
and
assured
mobility
mission.”Before
joining
the
military,
Hunter
wasn’t
satisfied
with
his
education;
he
wanted
something
more.
“I
tried
traditional
college.
It
wasn’t
for
me,”
Hunter
said,
“so
I
joined
the
Army
Reserves
in
2015,
looking
for
a
challenge.”
Hunter
scored
really
well
on
his
military
entrance
exams,
so
he
had
a
lot
of
options
to
choose
from,
but
only
one
really
stood
out
for
him.
“I
noticed
the
combat
engineer
MOS
and
it
appealed
to
me.”
He
admits
that
demolitions
are
a
part
of
the
allure,
but
it
wasn’t
all
of
it.
He
was
interested
in
all
the
different
skillsets
of
a
combat
engineer.
Hunter
later
moved
from
Des
Moines,
Iowa
to
Biloxi,
Mississippi
for
a
structural
welding
apprentice
program
at
Ingalls
Shipyard,
that’s
when
he
found
the
475th
EHCC.
Hunter
describes
himself
as
a
small
picture
kind
of
guy.
“I’ve
always
been
very
specific
in
my
mission,
but
the
EHCC
is
my
chance
to
get
a
look
at
the
big
picture,
how
everything
ties
together.”
The
EHCC’s
mission
drew
Hunter
in.
He
wanted
to
see
how
the
information
flowed
into
other
units
supplementing
and
helping
other
units
with
their
mission.
Kemper
said
the
475th’s
official
mission
is
to
receive
and
track
explosive
hazard,
(EH)
incidents
or
information;
maintain
the
land
mine
database;
analyze
EH
incidents
for
patterns
and
give
technical
advice
to
land
component
commanders
to
mitigate
EHs
within
the
Theater
and
Joint
Operations
Area
(JOA).
“The
heart
of
the
mission,”
Kemper
said,
“Is
working
those
relationships,
in
order
to
reduce
the
threat.
Our
skill
set
is
the
same
no
matter
what,
but
what
we
deliver
to
the
force
depends
on
what
the
EH
threat
is
and
the
needs
of
the
commander.”The
Army
Reserve
stood
up
the
475th
in
October
2017,
making
it
the
first
enduring
federal
EHCC
whose
mission
is
to
record,
track,
pattern
and
advise
unit
commanders
on
all
incidents
dealing
with
explosives
within
an
area
of
operation.
JWA
2019
gave
the
Hunter
and
the
Krakens
the
best
of
both
worlds,
mission
focus
on
their
individual
skillsets
and
a
better
insight
to
weaving
a
network
of
information,
before
and
after
the
boom.
The
475th
is
seeking
combat
engineers
E5-‐E7,
engineer
captains
and
majors,
and
MI
captains.
Their
facebook
page
is
https://www.facebook.com/475EHCC/