BAGHDAD, July 20, 2011 -- Soldiers with 1st “Dragon” Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division-Center, went through a demanding circuit of training July 15-16, 2011, at Camp Liberty, Iraq, designed to test their ability to respond in the event of an attack on their convoy or patrol.
Soldiers were expected to quickly set up a security perimeter, determine the number and extent of casualties, and prepare for their extraction via helicopter or ground medical evacuation. To make things even more interesting, key leaders who have been schooled and have experience in dealing with these kinds of situations were instructed to take a back seat, allowing more junior
Soldiers to showcase their abilities and also, to see how they performed under pressure.
“We did that because not always is it going to be the ideal situation, where no leaders get hit, said Sgt. 1st Class Sean Bach, senior medic with 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment. “We wanted to test (junior leaders) in a controlled environment to let them see that they can handle the situation, in comparison to an uncontrolled environment outside the wire.”
Bach referenced the May 22 improvised explosive device attack which killed two members of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, including a platoon sergeant, where events impelled junior leaders had take charge.
“(Removing senior leaders) was so the sergeants and corporals could get a better understanding of what we need to do if something happens and senior leaders aren’t there,” said Sgt. James George, a team leader with HHC, 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment. “So we can step up and take over.”
Dragon Battalion Soldiers also were forced to deal with a major aspect of the modern battlefield -- a civilian presence nearby.
Soldiers from the battalion’s forward support company, Company E, 299th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd AAB, 1st Infantry Division, USD-C acted as Iraqi civilians, something they are uniquely equipped to do.
“A lot of these guys (acting as civilians) are on combat logistics patrols,” Bach said. “I told them to act like they see locals act every day on the streets.”
Therefore, on top of ensuring that their buddies were being looked after by medics at the scene, Soldiers had to interact with those role-playing as local residents and keep them from getting too close or causing unnecessary confusion.
“You also have to make sure that they are kept out of the area, that you control that area, otherwise they will keep coming in and out, and you don’t know what’s going on,” said George.
With their deployment entering its final few months and some Soldiers beginning to think more and more of home, one of the things that needs to be defeated, Bach said, is the specter of complacency.
“I would say that (1st Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment) as a whole has worked really hard to beat the complacency monster, and that’s part of this (training), is beating that complacency monster,” he said.
Since only a small percentage of patrols and convoys face attacks, it is possible to lose focus, he added.
“They know they’re going to get hit (here in training), and that’s how every patrol should be,” Bach said. “They should always be thinking, ‘How am I going to react? How am I going to save my buddy’s life?’”
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