ROSE BARRACKS, Germany -- Dragoons assigned to 1st (War Eagles) Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment conducted a Squadron Live Fire Exercise at Grafenwoehr Training Area located near Rose Barracks, Germany, Jan. 31 -- Feb. 13, 2015.
The purpose of the two-week long exercise was to validate platoon certification as the War Eagles move on to further collective training whilst preparing for Saber Junction, a major unit event happening later on in April.
"The exercise will be conducted at multiple ranges, here, throughout the Grafenwoehr Training Area," said Maj. Bryan Frizzelle, 1st Squadron's Operation Officer (S3). "The overall purpose of this event is to enable our platoons to work together as a team instead of as individual Troops, so we can dominate at Saber Junction against the Opposing Force there."
Throughout the exercise, Troopers participated in platoon live-fire exercises, Stryker gunneries, command and control operations, as well as, convoy live-fire exercises and anti-tank ranges.
"The great thing about this training is that Soldiers that are cooks, mechanics and fuelers get to be trigger-pullers out here," said Frizzelle. "It's something different than their day jobs and it helps the Squadron to grow when you understand what everyone's job is."
Learning how their fellow Dragoons operate was one of the many tools that were being incorporated into the unit's training. Troopers were also learning how to use their specific job skills to help their unit succeed throughout every event.
"We are helping to coordinate situational templates for the unit's live-fire exercises, conducting research into our Allied Partners as well as spotting weather analysis for our daily net call," said Spc. Jason R. Bacher, an intelligence analyst assigned to Mustang Troop.
One of the keys to making the training work is the ability to get the information gathered out to the rest of the unit which helps them to keep working at the highest possible tempo.
"It's our job to supervise the battlefield communication layout which helps our guys to be able to do the right thing at the right time," said Sgt. 1st Class Byron Smith, the Noncommisioned Officer in charge of communications (S6). "We also provide the combat network radio layout that helps our main command keep in touch with their subordinate commands."
As the ability to communicate with one another is established, problems can arise that make keeping the lines of communication open, over great distances, difficult.
"There are plenty of obstacles when it comes to running the digital side of communications for the unit," said Smith. "This exercise helps us to prepare our platforms for Saber Junction as well as being able to relay information out to the rest of the Squadron."
With the exercise coming to an end, the War Eagles Squadron seems to be well on their way to achieving the unit's ultimate goal, which is to not only do well at Saber Junction but to succeed with any task given to them during the event.
"Here, in the next few weeks, we want to be able to display what we have achieved here and that this field exercise really paid off," said Smith.
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For more photos from the event, click on the link to our Flickr page.
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