FORT PICKETT, Va. –
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the
11th Transportation Battalion, 7th Trans. Brigade (Expeditionary) participated
in a field training exercise, held at Fort Picket, Virginia, Oct. 22
through Nov. 3, 2018.
Units from Fort Story, Fort Eustis
and Fort Lee, Virginia came together at Fort Pickett, for the field exercise
that would lay the foundation for "soldiering" that would carry into
future field training exercises.
"We have to master the fundamentals
of being a Soldier,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Damien Boffardi, 11th Trans. Bn.,
commander, “Once we do that, we can move on to more complex training."
Last year, the field training
exercise was held at Fort Story where the Soldiers learned and practiced
Sea/Land Operations and Life Support Area Defense Training. This year, the exercise
was focused on Forward Operating Base establishment and individual Soldier
skills. Soldiers participated in day and night land navigation, a Leaders
Reaction Course and base defense.
"I think a lot of it had to do
with the time of year we did this exercise, last year was later in the year and
the weather was a huge distraction from what we were really there to do,” said
Sergeant Joseph Mcdermott, 331st Transportation Company, 2nd platoon squad
leader. “You can’t control the weather, but you can plan the best time of year
that maximizes training.”
To make the training more
realistic, the exercise had opposing forces. These were composed of members
from the different units who conducted random attacks to test the units Area
Defense capabilities. This led to a natural rivalry between units.
“The base defense was really well
organized and well equipped, and everybody was on board together,” said Spc.
Adam Torres, 331st Trans. Co. watercraft operator. “The adrenaline
of the opposing forces, forced us to be excited.”
Base Defense is a mission essential
task listing that the battalion must be efficient in.
"It’s more than just base defense,
everything we are doing in this [exercise] is to build confidence at the basic
level, so that we can build on that confidence for bigger things in the next [exercise],"
said Boffardi. "This time we staged fixed wing air loads, we conducted
runs of sling loads and rail operations in preparation for the field training.
Next Time I want to actually move the equipment, but before we can do that, we
have to build the confidence."
Boffardi also mentioned that he
wanted the next field training exercise to be in West Point because it is one
of the only places the units can conduct air loads and sail too. West Point is
also a new location for the soldiers, to keep them from training in the same
place over and over.
“The hardest part of the [exercise]
was digging the fox holes when we arrived,” said Torres. “The dirt was that
hard-red clay and it took way longer to set up the perimeter than in Fort Story.
I did like that all of our "Sergeants Time Training" that we have
done on Thursdays, paralleled everything we had to do on this field training
exercise."
The short term tactics of focusing
on the fundamentals is part of the long term strategy of building a foundation
of knowledge and confidence that can be built on for the next exercise.
According to Boffardi, the exercise
was a huge success and that the soldiers of 11th Trans. Bn., are prepared for
the next training in spring.