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HOHENFELS, Germany -- NFL teams use practice squads to act as an
opposing team to help their starting lineup prepare for the next
week's game. Broadway shows use preview performances in front of
live audiences to work out the kinks before the show's opening
night.
The Army uses Opposing Forces personnel as a sort of
combination of the two. OPFOR personnel are trained to accurately
emulate future enemies, to not only add realism to training but to
also gain feedback and insight during training exercises.
Here at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center, the 1st Battalion,
4th Infantry Regiment provides OPFOR assets to units that deploy to
Hohenfels for training exercises. The 1-4 Infantry is unlike most
other infantry battalions in that their primary mission is to act as
OPFOR. They often use different tactics, vehicles and weapons and
even wear a different duty uniform than other infantrymen. All of
these measures help to enhance training realism and provide useful
lessons to training units on how to fight a particular enemy.
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Pfc. Yidi Yu (left) and Pfc. Nicholas Caple, both riflemen with A Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry regiment, defend a rooftop against Czech soldiers while playing the Opposing Forces during a simulated training exercise as a part of Allied Spirit II at Hohenfels Training Area, Aug. 8. The 1-4's primary mission is to provide Joint Multinational Readiness Center with OPFOR assets during the many training rotations that come through Hohenfels. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jerry Boffen, 130th Public Affairs Detachment, Connecticut National Guard)
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Spc. Tony Kroncich, a rifleman with the 1-4's A Company,
explained the variety of their operations and how they've
changed in the two years he's been here.
"We used to
focus more on insurgent operations," the 23-year-old
Marquette, Michigan, native said. "We were running around in
civilian clothes with Jeeps and AK-47s planting [Improvised
Explosive Devices]. It was more unconventional warfare."
Kroncich explained that
the mission has shifted recently to meet the training needs
of the units coming through Hohenfels.
"We've moved
to more conventional warfare," he said. "We're doing at
least three mounted operations rotations a year now. It was
not at all what I expected. We basically turned into a
tanker company."
For the mounted operations
exercises, the 1-4 Soldiers use retired M113 Armored
Personnel Carriers fitted with M3 Bradley turrets to engage
the mechanized units that come here to train. This means
they not only get additional training by operating the M113s
but also on the maintenance of the vehicles.
"Our
primary focus is to facilitate the units coming here,"
Kroncich said. "That means having enough vehicles ready to
support their training. Part of that is constant vehicle
maintenance. Sometimes it feels like we're always working on
vehicles or fixing something."
In addition to all of
these OPFOR mission requirements, the 1-4 Soldiers must stay
just as proficient in their infantry skills as any other
infantry unit. This leads to somewhat unique training
scenarios and keeps the 1-4 quite busy, often for fairly
long stretches of time.
Spc. Austin Bickley, also an
infantryman with A Company and a native of Marblehead, Ohio,
said that they'll often use U.S. Army tactics while acting
as OPFOR, especially with the recent move to more
conventional warfare. The 21-year-old also said that they
utilize the time between rotations to fit in their own
training.
"All of the tactics we use during the
conventional warfare exercise are straight out of our field
manuals," he said. "We'll work our battle drills into it too
when we're engaging the training units as OPFOR."
"We
do a lot of it between rotations too, though," he added.
"Since we have so many rotations now it's more of, OK now
you do all of your training, [Expert Infantry Badge]
tryouts, all of that stuff and then it's right back into
rotations."
The current amount of rotations leads to
a relatively high operations tempo, which means the Soldiers
need to find ways to decompress between rotations and then
get their minds back into training. Bickley and Kroncich
agreed that due to the relatively high optempo it probably
takes 1-4 Soldiers a little more to get back into the
mindset than most other units.
"We do three or four
months straight through sometimes with little or no time
off," Bickley said. "We go through the rotations, have a few
weeks or a month off and then get back at it. Taking block
leave between the rotations is definitely a saving point."
"I'll usually use the first week to just relax, maybe
play some video games or just spend time with my wife," he
added. "We like to cookout or travel around Europe. My wife
Kayla and I just went to Naples, Italy. That was great.
Being stationed here in Europe makes it so easy to travel
around and see places we wouldn't get to go if we were in
the states."
Kroncich said he and his wife Jessi also
like to travel Europe. His real passion, though, is training
his two German Shepherds, Dominic and Drako. His goal is to
get them Schutzhund trained, which includes tracking,
obedience and protection work, and to get them certified for
breeding.
"There's a first sergeant out of
Grafenwoehr that has a kennel in Amburg," he said. "I go up
there and train them with him. Pretty much all of my free
time goes into that. It takes my mind off of this place and
helps me get ready for the rotations."
Kroncich said
that he plans to continue his time in the Army, but hopes to
become a Military Working Dog handler. Bickley, however,
plans to get out of the Army when his current enlistment is
done.
"I always wanted to do this since I was
little," Bickley said. "My grandfather was in Vietnam and he
didn't talk about it much, but since he was in the Army I
guess it just always made me want to do it."
"I'm
glad that I've done this, though" he added. "There were
times that it felt like, why the heck am I doing this, but
looking back I'm really glad I did my time and I learned a
lot here."
He said he plans to go home to Marblehead
and get into welding and manufacturing with his
grandfather's business. If given the chance to talk to high
school kids back home about the Army, he had this advice to
offer:
"The Army is like a giant family," Bickley
said. "You get to know these guys a lot better than you
would in any other job. You build incredible trust with the
guys to your left and right and I love that. I did my time
and I'm getting out, but I'm glad I did it. I have no
regrets."
While Bickley and Kroncich both plan to
move on from their current assignment, the 1-4 will remain
here. They'll continue to provide Europe's only OPFOR
assets, and keep JMRC's mission focused on training,
effectiveness, interoperability and building relationships
with the U.S. Army's partners and NATO allies.
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jerry Boffeny
130th Public Affairs
Detachment
Connecticut National Guard
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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