FORT HOOD, Texas - Two companies from 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division performed individual weapons qualifications on Oct. 17 at the reflexive fire range on Fort Hood, just one of many requirements they must accomplish before the brigade deploys to Iraq this winter.
Among the Soldiers at the range, two, and possibly more, were brand new to the unit and had missed 3rd BCT's summer field exercise, Greywolf Prowl, as well as their deployment to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif.
Staff Sgt. Joshua Smith, a mounted section leader with A Company from Augusta, Maine has deployed twice since he enlisted, but has only been with 3rd BCT for a few weeks. Having past deployments under his belt gives him an advantage being a new Soldier, he said. He doesn't feel like he's missed out on any important training because of it.
"It would have been nice to work with the guys I'm with now. We zeroed our weapons yesterday, but this is basically the first time I've been out with them. I just kind of got thrown into the mix," Smith said.
He said that the Soldiers that are under his charge are already proficient in their tasks and don't need much guidance.
Smith is married and has two daughters. He said that they may not understand that their father is leaving soon.
"My youngest is only two, so I doubt she knows what's going on," he said. "It's hard to tell with the six year old. When I explain it to her, she just acts like 'oh, that's nice.'"
"My wife isn't happy about me leaving," Smith said, "but she's been through it before."
One Soldier arrived to 3rd Bn., 8th Cav. Reg. just days after the Greywolf brigade returned from the NTC. Pvt. Adrian Demers is an infantryman with A Company from Fall River, Mass.
To Demers, safety is the most important thing he can learn at the qualifications range. "Especially with the reflexive fire," he said. "You're moving around so much, it forces you to pay attention. You don't want to shoot your buddy in the back."
Demers said he's had a good time with his new unit so far, but that his adjustment to life on Fort Hood is insignificant compared to adjusting to a life in Iraq.
"It's definitely going to be a big change, but I adapt easily. I can't say that I'm not nervous, because I am," he said. "No amount of training can compare to the real thing. I'm going to be a little nerve racked when I get on that plane."
However nervous he may have been, Demers was visibly excited about the experience, in fact, he said that deployment was the reason that he enlisted to begin with.
"I'm looking forward to the challenge and the adventure," Demers said. "I got really lucky that fresh out of AIT, I'm deploying to Iraq."
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