FORT BRAGG, N.C. - The 188th Brigade Support Battalion, 18th Field Artillery Brigade, conducted Operation Algeria 42 from Nov. 2 to Nov. 6 here at Fort Bragg.
"Our main leaders development activity was Operation Algeria 42, coupled with platoon mounted live fire," said Lt. Col. Justin Herbermann, commander of the 188th BSB. "Our Soldiers conducted the training under tough, realistic conditions and gained valuable knowledge on the capabilities and functions of the BSB in an expeditionary environment. Leaders were able to assess and train their subordinates through leading Soldiers in a number of collective and individual tasks."
The 188th Brigade Support Battalion, 18th Field Artillery Brigade, conducted slingload operations and a convoy live-fire exercise in support of Operation Algeria 42, a battalion field training exercise, Nov. 2 to 6 at Fort Bragg.
"Our Soldiers conducted the training under tough, realistic conditions and gained valuable knowledge on the capabilities and functions of the BSB in an expeditionary environment," said Lt. Col. Justin Herbermann, commander of the 188th BSB. "Leaders were able to assess and train their subordinates through leading Soldiers in a number of collective and individual tasks."
"Soldiers had the opportunity to train and retrain on how to evaluate a casualty, perform first aid and call up and request air support using the nine-line MEDEVAC sequence. This was live training executed with helicopter support from the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade," said Herbermann.
The slingload exercise was led by 1st Lt. Theron Hollar of the 135th Forward Support Company, 188th BSB.
"Slingloading is a capability that is important for a battalion that supports an artillery brigade because it allows helicopters to transport and place six-round HIMARS (high mobility artillery rocket system) ammo pods at the right place and at the right time," said Hollar.
"Slingload operations aid in unit readiness because it is a critical means of transportation for future deployments and provides precision ability to put supplies right where you want it," explained Hollar. "It's important because standing up under 23,000 pounds of steel can be daunting and Soldiers need to be comfortable and proficient in executing the task."
Spc. Abdulai Bangura, a petroleum supply specialist in the 188th BSB, carried out slingload training for the first time.
"Slingloading is a much faster way to transport supplies from one point to another as well as being much safer because it can avoid improvised explosive devices and other roadside dangers," said Bangura. "I usually deal with fuel because I am a 92F (fuel supply specialist), but it's good for everyone to do slingload training.
The battalion also stressed the importance of unit readiness through a convoy live fire exercise. The training scenarios covered improvised explosive devices, vehicle recovery, encountering smalls-arms fire and medical evacuation procedures.
The live-fire scenarios trained and familiarized logisticians in what they may most likely encounter in combat operations, said 1st Lt. William Sebane, who supervised the CLFX for the battalion.
Capt. Stephen Kirouac, the battalion operations officer, was the senior observer controller for convoy live fire.
"A lot of leadership lessons were learned," said Kirouac. "We made it as realistic as we could. Soldiers got the opportunity to exercise real-world combat situations by firing live rounds through a moving platform and understand why it's important to have weapons proficiency.
"There were a lot of lessons learned for junior Soldiers who have never seen training like this before," added Kirouac.
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