401st MI Co. conducts Warrior Tasks, Battle Drills

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-Fort Sam Houston, Texas -- When Soldiers of the 401st Military Intelligence Company conducted their Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills Aug. 22, they didn't have to go far.

As a matter of fact, the members of the company, whose commander reports directly to the 470th MI Brigade commander, had to go only a few steps out their back doors. All the training took place in the grassy area behind Buildings 1000 and 1070.

Capt. Don Sheppard, the company commander, explained that the location was chosen to minimize the time the Soldiers were away from their duty stations.

"Transportation was not an issue," he said. "However, it was one less thing we had to worry about in order to get everyone trained."

Sgt. 1st Class Fernando Torres, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the training, added that, because the company has such a diversity of operational missions, it is difficult to take many of the Soldiers away from their work centers all at the same time without causing a potentially negative impact.

"By conducting training near the work centers, we were able to train more Soldiers and get personnel back to their sections with minimal impact to the mission," Torres said. "Furthermore, the Training Support Center here on Fort Sam Houston has such a great selection of training aids that we were able to create a very effective training environment."

The Soldiers rotated through eight different outdoor stations where they first received "classroom" instruction and then later demonstrated their Soldier skills. The training covered such Warrior Tasks as visual signaling, voice commands, individual and team movement and movement under fire, handling of weapons systems, immediate lifesaving measures, establishing security, and assessing, adapting and responding to threats.

"Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills ensure that every Soldier can act as a rifleman -- the basics of being a Soldier," Torres said.