FORT SILL, Okla. June 12, 2014 -- Soldiers from 168th Brigade Support Battalion made their semi-annual trip to Camp Gruber, June 2-9, in eastern Oklahoma to use diversified training resources not available at Fort Sill.
By making the six-hour convoy to what is becoming a familiar training area, the "Make it Happen" battalion linked up with partner units from the Army Reserve and Oklahoma Army National Guard in what can only be described as mutual accommodation and assistance.
"A brigade support battalion is an extremely diverse unit with many different sections and missions," said Capt. Robert Mountain III, operations officer. "A mission like this away from Fort Sill and with other units allows the companies and Soldiers to perform tactical and specialized mission essential training."
That diversity was readily apparent to any who tried to observe the training, a task impossible to do with only two eyes and two ears. Soldiers from 168th BSB were spread all among the 33,000 acres of the historic Army post, radio operators at headquarters worked overtime with the battalion operations section to keep track of incoming reports and update the operations map.
A section from A Company worked in the south at the company's field site sanitizing water from Lake Greenleaf to fill 600-gallon containers. Another worked to the east using the containers on sling-load operations with helicopters from the Oklahoma National Guard. Other sections from B Company repaired vehicles in the motor pool and buzzed overhead in Black Hawk helicopters practicing loading and unloading procedures.
"I love coming out here to train," Spc. Chris Holland, B Company, hollered over the roar of an approaching helicopter. "It's a good break from Fort Sill, and you can't get distracted by what might be happening at the house, you get to focus on training in a new and different tempo."
Just weeks before the current mission, 168th BSB sent over a dozen Soldiers to Air Assault School at Camp Gruber to earn their certification. The training assisted the 245th Aviation Battalion of the Oklahoma National Guard in its training requirements.
Whereas 168th BSB needed helicopters to practice fundamental landing zone security and its sling-load mission, the pilots and crews in the National Guard needed Soldiers, particularly air-assault certified ones, to train on their mission essential tasks and skills.
The partnership has been fostered and developed by the units' leadership over a number of years and many missions, each lending its expertise and resources to the other to mutually improve readiness, adaptability and the mission essential skills that make them the best at what they do.
Highly trained Soldiers can assist others in achieving their goals of becoming experts in their field, whether by providing material support like helicopters and equipment, teaching classes on water purification or simply working side-by-side to allow headquarters staffs to plan, track and execute missions with units on their flanks.
While helicopters buzzed overhead carrying supplies and personnel, and trucks rolled in a convoy full of fuel, Soldiers dined on hearty and healthy food. On other post areas, weapons lit up the range and radios chattered with units moving by vehicle, air and foot across the terrain on any number of missions. Despite all these activities, Soldiers from the support battalion stayed in contact with each other over several square miles.
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