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 CAMP ETHAN ALLEN TRAINING SITE, Vt. - Overcoming snow,
below freezing temperatures, and elements of a typical
Vermont winter was a challenge in itself. However, that
wasn't the main focus of Saturday's training.
The 186th Brigade Special Troops Battalion came together
Feb. 9, 2014 at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site (CEATS), to
zero and qualify on the 50-caliber machine gun. This was
another stepping-stone on the road to the Joint Readiness
Training Center (JRTC), at Fort Polk, La for a three-week training event.
The
opportunity to work as a team, was an important element
during the drill weekend.
“We don't train with our
parent company, HHC, all the time, so it's good that we can
train collaboratively,” said Army Sgt. 1st Class Weiland
Ross, a Military Police Officer with the 186 BSTB. “So it's
good to get all the different elements of the company
together on the same sheet of music.”
Furthermore,
learning to work on gunner teams is important for future
training and combat. Ross elaborated on the importance of
the weapons training and how it will better prepare them for
JRTC.
“It'll definitely make it easier because the
crews we use for the mounted gunnery are crews that are set
once they get qualified,” said Ross. “They stay as a crew
and we don't swap people around. If you qualify as a crew,
that's how you stay the rest of the training. It gets them
to develop and work collaboratively together as a team and
develop some cohesion amongst each other.”
Consequently, the frigid temperatures added an element of
difficulty to complete training, especially for those who
were qualifying for the first time. Besides staying warm by
a fire, or sipping on a cup of hot soup, the unit took the
opportunity to conduct cold weather training.
“We
were doing some training on building snow shelters,” said
Ross. “Also, some demonstrations on different types of
stoves and things like that for both cooking and staying
warm in a cold weather environment. A lot of guys are new
out of training and they've never used that before.”
The low temperatures also posed a level of difficulty during
qualifications. This required the gunners to layer up on
clothing, which was a blessing, but also a barrier.
“We have gloves on and it's hard to feel,” said Spc. Brandon
Woods, a military police officer with the Brigade Special
Troops Battalion.
Woods said he is from Vermont, so
he is used to the colder temperatures, which might be more
of a challenge for someone from the south.
Additionally, there is an increased amount of pressure
placed on units to complete required training before going
to JRTC. The minimal amount of days left for training must
be used efficiently, even if that means operating in
unfavorable conditions.
“It's a lot of training
requirements all at once, you have your individual tasks as
well as your gunnery,” said Ross. “We have a lot of training
events that we have to cram into one year. Our training
schedule is pretty packed so we have to take advantage of it
while we can.”
On the other hand, working together
while facing the elements, can add to the accomplishments of
the team.
“Once the weather cooperates when its
warmer they'll already have a cohesive bond and they should
train and come together a lot better,” said Ross.
The
challenges of cold weather, learning to work as a team, and
overcoming the pressures of training requirements are taken
in stride, as they are only part of what increases the level
of preparedness and realism.
“The most realistic
training you're going to get is if you ever have to go get
into combat and shoot a weapon,” said Ross. “So that's what
you're training to do, you're training to go and fight as a
team. So it's definitely realistic, and if we ever deploy or
go somewhere for a cold weather conflict, the soldiers will
be trained and ready because they've already been exposed to
it.”
By U.S. Army Sgt. Ashley Hayes
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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