FORT SILL, Okla. (March 6, 2014) -- Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 4th Field Artillery welcomed the chilling wind as the battalion tested its Soldiers on mission essential skills and knowledge during the semi-annual "Best by Test" exercise Feb. 24-28 at Fort Sill.
The battalion wanted conditions that would provide the Soldiers with stress and uncertainty, similar to an atmosphere of combat.
"This is just a part of that progression to get to be certified at the training level that we want to be by July first," said Maj. Keith Williams, battalion operations officer.
"We will be ready to deploy in July training-wise following this event, as well as an upcoming platoon live fire and then taking the entire battalion down to Fort Bliss (Texas), to conduct some battalion-level training exercises," he said. "We want to motivate our Soldiers to do their best so we added some competition by having the batteries and crews face off against one another as we look for the top launcher crew, top fire direction crew and the best ammo crew."
The second day of the weeklong testing brought what many of the Soldiers described as the most challenging -- reloading rockets into a Multiple Launch Rocket System in their full chemical warfare protection gear. The cold weather worked to their advantage as there was no sweat, but there was plenty of hustle as the Soldiers were timed at each station and then graded for accuracy.
"Time is a large part of the test, especially with the download of the ammo, but it is important that these Soldiers get fast at what they do because when it comes to getting rockets downrange in a combat environment, timing is everything," said Williams.
Loading rockets is just one of the many events the battalion tested its Soldiers on.
The evaluations began with a 50-question exam that covered basic field artillery knowledge. After each crew member took the test, the average score of the team factored into the overall standings. Next was a round robin style evaluation set up in a field environment that included occupation skills, ammunition reloads, fire mission processing, emergency procedures, land navigation and safety.
"We score them as a team in these group competitions and then at the end of the week we tally everything together to include their solo performances to come up with the overall winners," said Staff Sgt. Joshua Jehl, one of the evaluators.
Jehl himself tested last year and knows well what it takes to perform in such a high tempo situation with every move being critiqued.
"It's a very challenging week," Jehl said. "No matter how long you've done this, no matter how many times you went through practice, it's always a different challenge whether it's the weather or the addition of another factor that you had not planned for."
The winners received more than just the title at the end of the event.
"When we are all finished, what we do is get an engraved pod cover that comes when a live rocket is shot, leaving the pod cover," said Williams. "We collect these covers and then engrave them with the "Best by Test" winner on that pod cover that these guys can hang up on their wall as a memento of their accomplishment. They are very proud of it and it's a huge deal for them."
At the end of the week, B Battery took the prize and title of best launcher crew and top fire direction center crew. A Battery took home the cover for top ammo crew.
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