Source: The Greeneville Sun
10-04-2004
The following is a news release from the Tennessee Army National Guard. The story is by Edward Lee Pitts of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
The mortar rounds began hitting the camp here before dawn last Thursday, followed by the zipping sound of rocket-propelled grenades and the sudden boom of homemade bombs.
That afternoon, a peaceful rally outside a gate turned violent when a car bomb exploded and "killed" four Iraqi civilians.
The explosions Thursday signaled a new phase in the training of the Tennessee National Guard soldiers who are here in the Mojave Desert preparing for a November deployment to Iraq.
The following day, the more than 3,300 soldiers with the 278th Regimental Combat Team convoyed eight miles deeper into the desert mountains of the National Training Center to begin two weeks "in the box."
(The 278th includes Greeneville, Tenn.-based Troop G.-EDs.)
"It is the closest thing to war without being at war," said Capt. Name omitted, name of soldier, a machine operator from Athens, Tenn.
The training is designed to replicate what soldiers will face when they travel from Kuwait to bases near Iraq’s border with Iran, an area the unit will patrol for the next year. Exercises include roadside bombs, sniper fire and Iraqi insurgents.
The soldiers spent the last nights at base camp here, dubbed the Dust Bowl, playing cards, watching movies on laptops, or reading. A group of soldiers kicked a miniature soccer ball around outside in their combat boots.
Sgt. Maj. name omitted, name of soldier, a 54-year-old principal and coach from Sweetwater, Tenn., is facing his first deployment after 33 years with the 278th.
He said as much as 75 percent of the unit has been "in the box" here before. But he said the latest practice mission to maintain peace around mock Iraqi towns will require different tactics than the ones used for the tank-on-tank battles conducted during their previous visits to California.
"It is here we need to make sure our younger guys are trained and not overly aggressive," Sgt. Maj. Name omitted, name of soldier said. "They are the guys walking patrols and driving those convoys every day when we get to Iraq." Be Prepared For Anything
The soldiers are instructed to drink up to four liters of water a day, bring warm clothes to withstand the cold desert nights and be prepared for anything in what will be, by design, a rapidly changing environment.
For two weeks, National Training Center instructors are expected to throw all sorts of obstacles at the soldiers similar to what the 278th may encounter in Iraq.
"We want to project an aggressive posture coming out of here," 1st Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Name omitted, name of soldier told about 17 officers at a Thursday morning operations meeting before the convoy departed. "This (the convoy) is not a drive in the park. This is probably the most dangerous thing we will do out there." Practice Convoys, Fictional Town
For practice, the 1st Squadron spent about four hours training on a horseshoe-shaped, 14-mile route to a base near a fictional Iraqi town.
The convoy itself involved hundreds of vehicles including Humvees, tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, trucks, wreckers and mobile command posts.
Despite Capt. Name omitted, name of soldier hope that the convoy would be uneventful, soldiers expected to encounter homemade roadside bombs, sniper fire and mortar shells from 200 to 300 "insurgents."
Once at the new base, officers such as the Capt. must negotiate with other role players acting as citizens of the mock villages.
"We are not there to kick in doors or break stuff," Capt. Name omitted, name of soldier said of the training as well as the actual mission in Iraq.
He added, "We want to get them involved in rebuilding their country." The pace of camp life picked up Thursday with a flurry of activity reflecting the intensity of the upcoming mission.
Soldiers spent the day mounting .50-caliber machine guns on their Humvees and loading blank rounds into their personal rifles.
Other 278th members raised and lowered the mechanical barrels of the mobile-artillery vehicles, whose 155-millimeter shells have a range of about 15 miles.
With vehicles secured and loaded, the soldiers began to pack their own gear.
"I go camping all of the time, but two weeks out here is going to be a long time," said Spc. Name omitted, name of soldier, 20, of Cleveland, Tenn. “I’m making sure I pack a lot of snacks because MREs (meals ready to eat) get old real fast."
Sgt. Name omitted, name of soldier, 41, also of Cleveland, said he is most concerned about the nightly dust storms expected to blow at up to 25 miles per hour. But he said he’d take the cool, windy nights here over the hot humidity the unit endured during its recent four months of training at Camp Shelby, Miss.
Cpl. Name omitted, name of soldier, 30, of Finger, Tenn., spent four years in the Marine Corps and joined the 278th soon after the unit received its deployment orders last spring.
He said that no matter how hard the next two weeks will be, it won’t compare to what the 278th may face in Iraq.
"The last four months of training have been time for us to become a cohesive unit and practice teamwork," he said. "But you can’t really prepare for combat until you see it."
(Story by Edward Lee Pitts, courtesy of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.)
Article and images copyright Chattanooga Times Free Press
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