FORT SILL, Okla. (Nov. 14, 2013) -- The "Deep Attack" Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 4th Field Artillery, spent three days training afield Oct. 28-30, 2013, to focus on their force protection skills and warrior tasks.
Force protection is a very important aspect of the military life because it covers so many areas of responsibility. While the first thought is usually of a Soldier in a guard post, force protection is also taking care of entry control points, towers and improving Soldiers' foxholes in any way possible.
The field training exercise consisted of five situational training exercises: reacting to an IED, chemical warfare operations, unexploded ordnance lanes, evacuating and treating a casualty, and establishing a platoon fighting position.
"We want to get these Soldiers to learn in this exercise how to executive mission command and identify problem areas which will sharpen their training in future operations," said Maj. Keith Williams, battalion operations officer.
Each of these training lanes focused on critical tasks at the platoon level, increasing the platoon members' trust and understanding of each other which is vital for victory on the battlefield.
During the react to an IED scenario, Soldiers learned about the risks of how to perform when the situation goes berserk following an explosion and steps to take to reduce the chaos. Training for the worst possible consequences helps Soldiers develop muscle memory of what to do should they encounter an actual threatening event.
"Force protection is a critical task that all Soldiers must be proficient in," said 1st Lt. Frederick Bryant. "My lane focused on reacting to an IED that also included an ambush. The Soldiers needed to build cohesion to link up with another unit to assist them, just as we would in a real-world scenario."
The chemical warfare lane centered on skills needed when faced with a chemical attack. They were required to wear their Mission Oriented Protective Posture uniform and assess the severity of the attack. The amount of gear worn is determined by the degree of attack.
"It was great to get back to the basics of chemical training because it has been pushed to the side for years and is now coming back," said Warrant Officer Philip Ellis, the officer in charge of the lane.
Facing a casualty is something that no Soldier wants to ever do, however it is something that they all must know how to do. To ease the process of assisting someone who has been hurt severely, the battalion spent a fair share of the exercise learning how to evacuate and treat a casualty.
The lane focused on controlling bleeding while moving the injured person out of harm's way and into an ambulance. The battalion wanted to make the scenario as real as possible by having Soldiers assess the injuries while teaching them a small amount of medical physiology so they could better understand the situation. Soldiers were taught how to look for important things such as head injuries and other signs of possible effects from being hurt.
Second Lt. Jacques Cozart, a platoon leader, said the lanes were a benefit not only to the Soldiers but especially so to the battalion's junior leaders.
"These exercise lanes gave everyone an opportunity to their combat readiness in various situations and improve on what they needed to," he said.
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