The Bull on the Mountain Line

(The 1-194 FA in Afghanistan)

Pre-deployment Annual Training:  Minnesota, 2010 Week 1

By 2LT Kyle Brewer

(Son of Steve and Christine Brewer, Vinton)

For the next part of their training in preparation for deployment, Alpha Battery has moved up to Camp Ripley, Minnesota to continue their month long annual training.  This stage tests the Soldiers on their skills that they have been practicing and perfecting over the past year.  The training here is meant to be a step up in intensity and realism to provide the troops a tougher but more realistic training atmosphere in order to better acclimate them to the combat environment they will be entering.

After A Battery made the 7 hour drive up to Camp Ripley, the men were in-processed and the next day, moved out to the Forward Operation Base, Y2W.  All operations for Alpha are conducted out of this FOB and it is where the men eat, sleep, and prepare for the missions they must conduct each day.  It is set up to simulate the type of environment most men will be living in once they arrive in Afghanistan.

On day four, the Soldiers went out to the M4 qualification range to qualify with their personal weapons.  It was a very wet day and they sun didn’t come out until well into the afternoon but the men did well and everyone from Alpha qualified.  They had to qualify on their basic M4 sights (iron sights), their Close Combat Optical sight, with their Pro Mask/Gas Mask, and iron sights at night.  The men were tired after a long day on the range and being soaking wet all day but accomplished their mission and were on to Lane Training the next 4 days.

The Soldiers began their Lane Training on day 5 which covered Urban Operations, IED Defeat, Traffic Control Point Operations, and Reconnaissance.  The Observer Controllers who operated the lanes and gave the units their mission’s utilized pyrotechnics, make-up artists, simulators, and Afghan native role-players to make the scenarios realistic and challenging for the Soldiers.  The men would work their way through the different lanes a number of times throughout the day with the difficulty increasing each time until the OC’s determined that they had met all of the requirements to be given a GO.

1st Platoon, A Battery preformed exceedingly well on all of the lanes and has really started to mesh well as a unit.  With very experience section/squad leaders and Soldiers at all levels working hard to get themselves prepared for the upcoming tour, their hard work and dedication to be the best has been noticed by higher command.  Their job now for the men of 1st Platoon A Battery is to keep improving and maintain their drive to train hard and be well prepared because tougher events like squad live fire, convoy live fire and the much anticipated artillery live fire are coming up for their last 9 days at Camp Ripley.

 

The Bull on the Mountain Line

(The 1-194 FA in Afghanistan)

Pre-deployment Annual Training:  Minnesota, 2010 Week 2

The final week of training at Camp Ripley was intense and trying for the men of Alpha Battery but they pulled it off with exceptional results.  The final training events for the men were their Convoy/Squad Live Fire exercises and the much anticipated, Howitzer Live Fire and Table 12 certification for their actual Field Artillery training.

Members of the media both from small towns in Iowa and Minnesota and from larger, national media sources, came out to embed and cover the training that the Soldiers were completing during Alpha’s final lanes training and Convoy Live Fire event.  The men were very impressed with the articles and video clips that came out over the next couple of days and appreciated the accuracy some of the journalists reported with.  “They really told it just like we said it, even getting in the jokes and humor.” Said Sergeant Phillip King of 1st Platoon. “It’s nice to see them showing us how we really are, not how they want us to be.”

Alpha and the 194 FA in general got lots of kudos for their training while at Camp Ripley.  The OC’s in charge of lanes, General Officers and VIP’s that observed the training events mentioned on numerous occasions that the 194 set the standard at all events and no one ever bested that standard.  The hard training and preparation set up Alpha for success as they moved out to the field for their Howitzer Live Fire and Table 12 certification.

Over 4 days and nights of firing rounds down range from their 105mm Howitzers, rain and shine, Alpha doggedly knocked out each objective set before them.  Firing over 680 rounds into the Hendrickson Impact Area, Alpha passed the time standards for all required fire missions for Table 12 certification at 2130 while getting a final soaking from the clouds above.  Along with achieving their certification, Alpha also swept the awards board by receiving the Top Gun Award for the Battalion, claimed by Staff Sergeant Jeff Hersom with his section on Gun 5 and also the two nominees for the state level Soldier and NCO of the year competition to be held later this year.  Specialist Matthew Hatland will compete in the Soldier category and Sergeant George Busby will compete as the NCO.

After making the long trip back to Iowa, the Soldiers of Alpha Battery received the final awards from the month long Annual Training.  Racking up an impressive but well deserved 11 Army Achievement Medals, 4 Adjutant General and Brigade Challenge Coins, and 5 Battalion and Battery Challenge Coins, the men’s hard work paid off with a very successful training period.  Ready to be back in civilian clothes and with their family’s for the holiday weekend, the men were released from Estherville and enjoy one last month of life at home before making the long trip to Mississippi, California and finally to Afghanistan.