A Perfect Match

By Spc, Josh Dodds, 116th PAD KosovoNovember 18, 2009

Soldiers Train for Kosovo Mission
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Kosovo Bound Troops Train in Germany
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HOHENFELS, GERMANY - After the humvees and Bradleys roll out from the last link-up point, the vehicles arrive at various points around the quiet replicated city of Gnjilane, Kosovo, here.

The rain quits on a cool October day and the sun pokes through the clouds as second platoon reports their target is acquired. Radio traffic bounces back and forth in the command vehicle as the teams are coordinated. Soldiers wait for the order to follow through with their mission.

"Even though we have only trained for six weeks now we have meshed really well," Capt. Darren L. Koberlein said. He is commander of Charlie Company of the 231st Maneuver Task Force (MTF), Multi-national Task Force-East.

The day's exercise is part of a MRE (Mission Readiness Exercise) in preparation for a yearlong deployment in Kosovo.

Charlie Company will have two main missions, under the overall command of Brig. Gen. Al Dohrmann.

"One will be to provide a safe and secure environment for the city of Gnjilane," Koberlein said. "Secondly, we are also tasked with the mechanized mission (armored support) for Camp Bondsteel."

The company worked well together during the exercise in the mock version of Gnjilane, based on one of the Kosovo's major municipalities. The target was captured and no civil disturbances escalated.

"The AAR (After Action Review) went well -- we had some learning points -- but overall we had very positive comments," Koberlein said.

Charlie Company is a hybrid of two National Guard units, the 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 137th Infantry Regiment, headquartered in Kansas City, Kan., and the 1-188th Air Defense Artillery, out of Grand Forks, N.D.

The 2nd /137th Inf. Reg. provides the commander rapid troop deployment on the battlefield, with the help of its M-2A2 Operation Desert Storm Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

The 1-188th ADA primarily will conduct foot patrols in Kosovo to provide the command with much needed information about the needs of the people and their civic leaders. This will be a adjustment from their usual air-defense mission.

"I am pretty familiar with doing the combat drills and battle drills we have to do on the infantry side. It is as if you were dismounted with a stinger missile," said 1st Lt. Blake M. Siebold, originally of New Rockford, N.D.

Siebold is the company's executive officer and has been a member of the 1-188th ADA since 2002.

The two units completed pre-deployment training in their home states and joined together at their mobilization station, Camp Atterbury, Ind.

"The first time we met was when we hit boots on the ground at Camp Atterbury, and since then we've meshed 100 percent. It's like we've always trained with each other," said Staff Sgt. Kenneth W. Rock, of Lawrence, Kan., a master gunner.

They had an advantage of being able to make their own training schedule. This gave the unit a chance to start learning to work together under their own terms.

"We started off in a good situation; both elements of the company had conducted all their pre-mobilization training prior to hitting mobilization station," Koberlein said.

This gave Charlie Company's leadership the opportunity to design their training schedule for the first two to three weeks at Camp Atterbury, he said.

"From our first initial meeting with our Kansas counterparts to what we have now, it is as if we have trained a lot longer then what we have been together," said Sgt. Maj. Mark A. Nelson, the 1st Sgt. of Charlie Company. "The process of becoming a cohesive unit has been, for the most part, an easy transition for the units."

"Top (Nelson) and I have similar civilian and military backgrounds and it was really easy to be on the same sheet of music," Koberlein said.

Koberlein, of Kansas City, Kan., and Nelson, of Grand Forks, N.D., both work as police officers.

A leadership team that works well together can easily facilitate a unit's ability to train and learn from each other. The command also stressed the importance of developing younger troops in to leaders.

Nelson said during training they try getting Soldiers outside of their comfort zones, developing junior leaders and developing faith in them to make the right decisions. The end result is that they realize they have the ability to make decisions on the ground to successfully complete their mission.

Now, with almost two years of training for this mission under their belts, the Soldiers of Charlie Company will soon move into Kosovo and take up their mission.

"As leaders we have been able to gauge the competence of our unit; I am fully confident we will do fine," Koberlein said.

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