Commander hosts Combined Arms Rehearsal during JRTC rotation

By Capt Shane Sandretto (10th Mountain)March 29, 2012

usa image
A team of Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team reacts to explosions and gunfire during a situational training exercise March 17 at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk, La. A group of roughly 100 veterans and Family Members watched the e... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT POLK, La. -- Col. Dennis Sullivan, commander of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI), hosted a Combined Arms Rehearsal on March 20 with leaders from the Security Force Advisory Teams and role players simulating Afghan military leadership.

Joint Readiness Training Center rotation 12-05 is historic in that it is the second rotation to train SFATs, the first to train SFATS with an entire infantry brigade combat team, as well as additional combat multipliers setting the conditions of a real military footprint in a province in Afghanistan.

The rotation also is the largest exercise on Fort Polk since the Louisiana Maneuvers of 1940.

The CAR is a rehearsal conducted on a large terrain model to represent the battle space. Mother Nature herself couldn't stop the event even after knocking out the power twice with lightning strikes. The event continued by flashlight.

At the conclusion of the CAR, a "new" unit was created, Team Naw-Ruz 1391, in honor of the New Year holiday in Afghanistan, where it is the year 1391 on the Persian, or Jalali, calendar.

Sullivan began the closing comments by announcing the new name and saying, "We are one team, standing together, shoulder to shoulder."

Speaking to the crowd in attendance, Col. Daniel Walwrath, commander of the SFATs, said that Afghan units with which SFATs embed are not under U.S. tactical control, they are led by Afghans. He emphasized the need for good communication and cross-talk between all units in the battle space.

Maj. Gen. Ghilzai, a role player who in reality is a former Afghan National Army brigade commander, said he saw very good partnership and this made him happy.

"SFATs are new to our mission, and they have already proven to be a great asset," Ghilzai said. "They will help maintain good relations between the Afghan and U.S. forces."