Published: August 21, 2011
Engineers Prepare At Camp Atterbury for Missions in Afgha
By Staff Sgt. Matt Scotten, Camp Atterbury Public Affairs
Spc. Dwayne Brown, of Gary, Ind. (left) and Staff Sgt. Kyle Leonard, of Valparaiso, Ind., both assigned to the 713th Engineer Company, provide overwatch and security for their fellow Soldiers during premobilization training.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Matt Scotten, Camp Atterbury Public Affairs |
EDINBURGH, Ind. - Dust filled the air, along with the sound of explosions and gunfire as engineers from the 713th Engineer Co, out of Valparaiso, Ind. conducted counter improvised explosive devise training.
"As we prepare ourselves for missions in Afghanistan, we have started by spending lots of time on ranges, and working on basic, fundamental skills," said 2nd Lt. Thomas Woroszylo, a Lowell, Ind. native and platoon leader for 3rd Plt, 713th Eng. Co. "But now we are getting to use those fundamentals in more mission-based training like this."
Soldiers patrolled a counter IED course which forced them to meet with simulated afghan villagers, use robots to inspect possible IEDs, react to small-arms enemy fire, and cordon and search buildings.
Soldiers from the 713th Engineer Company, out of Valparaiso, Ind., practice inspecting potential improvised explosive devices as part of their premobilization training.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Matt Scotten, Camp Atterbury Public Affairs) |
"This was very realistic training, said Staff Sgt. Kyle Leonard, a Valparaiso, Ind. native and squad leader with the 713th Eng. Co. "You hope you will never have to deal with all of these things all at once like this in a real-world scenario, but having to do so in training makes it easier to make good decisions in combat."
Leonard said that the "chaos-based" training environment was invaluable to his Soldiers because most of them have not yet deployed. "It forces them to react to a situation they can't control or plan for, which will help them down the road."
According to Woroszylo, the time Soldiers spent inspecting mock IEDs and interacting with villagers was particularly valuable. "It resembles what our unit should be doing when they deploy, and we want our Soldiers as prepared as possible."
The unit prepared the course itself, and manned it with engineers from within the unit who had knowledge and experience that allowed them to make the course challenging to their Soldiers. Soldiers searching homes had to be careful for trip-wires and recovery teams had to be ready to recover vehicles hit with simulated IEDs.
Spc. David Campbell, a Valparaiso, Ind. native and engineer with the 713th Engineer Company, spies a trip-wire left as a booby trap during a counter improvised explosive devise course.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Matt Scotten, Camp Atterbury Public Affairs
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"Our rear detachment did a really good job setting this all up for us," said Leonard. "Those guys along with the support and training aids that are available to us here at Atterbury really made this training successful today."
The 713th Eng. Co. will continue training at Atterbury until it is ready to mobilize, and they hope to take full advantage of the training opportunities available here. Woroszylo said, "I expect us to continue to grow as a unit and become even more proficient."
Soldiers from the 713th Engineer Company, out of Valparaiso, Ind., conducted counter improvised explosive device training.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Matt Scotten, Camp Atterbury Public Affairs |
Soldiers from the 713th Engineer Company, out of Valparaiso, Ind., react to improvised explosive devices, as well as simulated small-arms enemy fire during premobilization training at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center.
Photo: Staff Sgt. Matt Scotten, Camp Atterbury Public Affairs |
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