McGREGOR RANGE, N.M. -- The 1st Battalion, 361st Engineer Regiment, Task Force Redhawk, 5th Armored Brigade, Division West recently trained the Massachusetts Army National Guard's 188th Engineer Detachment (Facility Management) here on engineering and inspection skills for the unit's upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.
The detachment will be charged with being mentors to Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police Facility Engineers.
"Task Force Redhawk, the Engineer trainer mentors, were well prepared and gave us dynamic scenarios … that provided an opportunity to use the engineer skill set we will need in Afghanistan," said Maj. John Bagaglio, the 188th Engineer Detachment executive officer. "During the (culminating training exercise), with role players, we understood how hard it is to work with interpreters to teach, coach and mentor in our engineer disciplines."
During the CTE, the detachment trained on the Army's Installation Status Report, a standardized inspection process used to identify facility standards and any deficiencies that may need repair. The results of these inspections can help facility engineers prioritize efforts to support other units.
The CTE also tested the detachment on facility inspections, which, during the training, were conducted using Afghan role players and interpreters. Unit members instructed a role player how to conduct the ISR inspection. Force protection was paramount during the exercise, and the detachment developed techniques to provide internal security.
"In the beginning, I had tunnel vision," said Sgt. Michael O'Malley, 188th Engineer Detachment. "As the training progressed, it helped me increase my situational awareness. Being immersed in the scenario helped me learn to watch several situations simultaneously."
The event culminated on the fourth day. Three-man teams of detachment Soldiers travelled from a simulated forward operating base to an Afghan village to brief the Afghan engineers on the results of the inspections. Soldiers learned new skills on how to react to a hostile environment, handle an uncooperative interpreter and respond to insider threat attacks.
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