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HomeNewsNight time training prepares 101st Airborne Division unit for real world situations

Night time training prepares 101st Airborne Division unit for real world situations

101st Airborne Divison at Fort CampbellFor the soldiers of Bravo Company, 3-187 Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Battlehard), training is a never ending proposition. How well they learn these lessons here at home, can become a matter of life or death during their time in the combat zones of Afghanistan and Iraq. The exercise they were presented with this evening comes straight from the Poppy fields of Afghanistan.

We were to meet up with the units participating in the exercise out in the field. When we arrived, the soldiers who had arrived before us had already spread out and conducted their security sweeps. Listening and observation posts were established covering the various approaches to the pickup zone. The units to be transported were in a waiting state known as PZ posture. As you might guess PZ stands for Pickup Zone.

Soldiers of Bravo Company, 3-187 Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Battlehard)
Soldiers of Bravo Company, 3-187 Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Battlehard)

We joined up with the unit as they were waiting for the transport birds to arrive.

The media representatives received a quick briefing from Major Leslie the Battalion’s S-3 , who explained that this was a continuation of a larger exercise held a couple of weeks ago. This company was unable to complete the exercise due to inclement weather causing the aviation units to become unavailable.

He then laid out the rough framework of the exercise this evening.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuZrQPCkSnw[/youtube]

His briefing was followed by Captain Schwengler from Bravo Company who provided detailed information on the exercise.

He told us that the tactical mission of the evening was to kill or capture a lead Taliban insurgent who is responsible for dealing drugs, which is supplying the funding for terrorist activities.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfV_E2jTEQs[/youtube]

The exercise was also a chance for training with canine teams whose mission was to track down any insurgents fleeing the operation location. This is the first opportunity the unit has had to train with these canine teams while home in the United States.

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Bill Larson
Bill Larson
Bill Larson isĀ  is politically and socially active in the community. Bill is a member of the Friends of Dunbar Cave. You can reach him via telephone at 931-249-0043 or via the email address below.
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