JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Between the deafening cacophony and brilliant flashes of machine gun fire, the booming shouts of squad leaders as they position their troops, and the constant crackle of radios reporting the situation, something special happens.
To an outside observer it surely looks like chaos, but to the infantrymen who make their money doing this job, it's a work of art that takes practice, patience and cunning.
Soldiers with Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, practiced searching and clearing an urban area of simulated enemy forces
January 21-22 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
This training revolved around the company's ability to search a town's worth of buildings for simulated enemy forces and engaging them when found.
"This really gives the platoons the opportunity to maneuver in coordination with adjacent units, integrate their vehicles, integrate indirect fire support and encounter civilian media on the battlefield," said Capt. Christopher Wallgren, a Gardner, Mass., native and commander of Company C.
Many of the Soldiers who took part in the training were new to the military and this was their first time operating in a scenario this large. For them, this served as a chance to not only hone their urban combat skills but also to practice the basics.
"From the simplest thing of maneuvering under night vision in limited visibility, to simply clearing a room, maneuvering as part of a fire team in a squad, learning how to de-conflict direct fires; all of these things for the younger guys were good focus areas," Wallgren said.
Throughout the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. Soldiers have been tasked with fighting enemy forces in large swaths of urban areas, making it an important skills for infantrymen to maintain even as large-scale military engagements in these areas decrease.
"Regardless of whether it's a decisive action fight or a counter insurgency, the majority of the population lives in urban areas," Wallgren explained. "At some point, regardless of what theater of operation you're in, you will encounter urban areas and you will have to close with and destroy the enemy in the urban area."
With so many new Soldiers, the event turned into a prime learning opportunity.
"They did a great job," Wallgren said. "It's good to see the progression. The morning of day one there was definitely a lot of friction points and a lot of learning going on. When you can look 48 hours later and see that your Soldiers have learned the lessons and applied those and are now more proficient than they were, that's the goal."
For the Soldiers clearing the village, the event was a chance to demonstrate and refine their combat skills.
"I love this stuff," said Spc. Michael Schlupp, a San Jose, California, native, and gunner with Company C. "This is what I live for right here. This is why I love being infantry. It's all about getting the guys to get together and accomplishing our goals."
These Soldiers will continue to train in the coming months as they prepare for a month-long rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., this summer and whatever missions the future might hold for them.
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