Geronimo paratroopers embrace training at Fort Pickett

By Sgt. 1st Class Stephanie Widemond, 188th Infantry Brigade Public AffairsJune 22, 2014

Geronimo paratroopers embrace training at Fort Pickett
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Staff Sgt. David Neal, a paratrooper assigned to 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division speaks with Brig. Gen. Patricia Anslow, First Army deputy commanding general for operations, June15, 20... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Geronimo paratroopers embrace training at Fort Pickett
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A platoon with 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division maneuvers through a reconnaissance training lane without being spotted by the opposing force, June 19, 2014, during eXportable Combat Tra... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Even a storied division like the 82nd Airborne Division looks for opportunities to better itself.

Paratroopers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Abn. Div., have been embracing just such an opportunity in June during eXportable Combat Training Capability Rotation 14-01 at Fort Pickett, Virginia.

The monthlong mission, which is designed to prepare the Virginia National Guard's 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team for combat in line with its Army Force Generation glidepath, has provided Geronimo paratroopers the opportunity to hone their warrior tasks and skills while serving as a contemporary opposing force, or OPFOR, for Guard soldiers.

"The 82nd has a certain path as far as staying prepared as a global response force and this became an opportunity to leverage a unique training opportunity down here, to hone in and make ourselves better," said Maj. Joshua Gaspard, operations officer for 2nd Bn., 501st PIR. "We get to be on the other side … [and] get to learn some of the best practices."

Learning how to think like the enemy is paying dividends for the Geronimo battalion, Gaspard said.

"It's always fun to get to see things from the other side," said Staff Sgt. David Neal, an OPFOR team noncommissioned officer in charge assigned to 2nd Bn., 501st PIR. "That's a part of war that we usually don't get to see."

Neal said, as a combat arms person, being able to think like the enemy better prepares his soldiers to do their job better. He said the mission is also allowing his troops the opportunity to study how U.S. military forces maneuver.

"Playing the OPFOR, we get to reinforce the LGOP tactics," said 1st Lt. Gern Lumpkins, an OPFOR team leader assigned to 2nd Bn., 501st PIR.

LGOP, or little group of paratroopers, is a tactic the airborne community relies on when jumping into hostile terrain. The technique relies on maximizing the use of personnel and weapons systems in small, decentralized groups of paratroopers who link up after landing on the drop zone.

The Geronimo battalion used the LGOP tactic during their first phase of the XCTC rotation when they jumped into Blackstone Army Airfield at Fort Pickett, Virginia, prior to the ten-day National Guard exercise kicking off.

Gaspard said playing the role of OPFOR and jumping in were just two parts of his unit's overall mission during the XCTC rotation. The paratroopers have also played the good guys.

"We have four embeds from the 188th [Infantry Brigade] covering down on our rifle platoon, our motorized platoons and our heavy weapons platoons," Gaspard said.

The 188th Infantry Brigade, based out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, is a training brigade that provides observer coach trainers to reserve component and active duty soldiers throughout the U.S.

Gaspard said the 188th has provided oversight to company leaders for feedback, planning and rehearsals while Geronimo paratroopers have gone through the same lanes the 166th soldiers have. He said providing a common set of standards for qualification and professional development for both active and reserve components is part of the Total Army Force Policy.

"We all have the same foundation, it is the United States Army," Gaspard concluded.