Fort Huachuca, Arizona - Students in the 35 Golf course, Alpha Company, 305th Military Intelligence Battalion practiced hands on training April 24 as the final part of their course on Fort Huachuca.
The seven students have been training in and out of the classroom over the last six months. During their last week of training, Platoon Sgt. Mike Robinson, 305th MI Bn., instructed them on evacuating a casualty, using hand and arm signals, moving as a member of a fire team, moving under direct fire, performing movement techniques during urban operations, reacting to an ambush, reacting to direct and indirect fire while mounted and dismounted, reacting to an unexploded ordinance hazard, giving a nine line unexploded ordinance report and requesting a medical evacuation.
"This training is going to give them the basics to be a Soldier," Robinson said. "The Army is trying to get to the concept of every person in the military is a Soldier first, so we're trying to get towards that and give them those basic skills."
The group is taught both in a classroom environment and hands-on for more effective training, Robinson said. The 35 Golfs are imagery analysts.
Instructor Sgt. David Murphy, 305th MI Bn., said, "this is the end-of-course field training exercise where it simulates basic Soldier level tasks, such as moving as a unit, reacting to contact and evaluating a casualty. We've put it all together so we can get it all done in a day now instead of staying out for three days."
Murphy says the new training, which changed three months ago into a one-day exercise is now more efficient and the students seem to have more fun with it. Previously students would camp out overnight.
"At the end of the day you're a Soldier first and a military intelligence professional second to none," Murphy said.
During the exercise the group moved as a unit towards Murphy and 1st Lt. Brandon Camillo, Alpha Company, 305th MI Bn., who were staged in "the village" and had to find them inside one of the buildings. The group encountered an unexploded ordinance and a live improvised explosive device that created a casualty. They then moved the casualty for medical transport and secured the medical evacuation zone.
The group then restarted on their original mission to take the village. After many failed attempts to gain access into Murphy and Camillo's area, the group had a recount of the lessons learned and were able to finish off the last of their paintballs on one another.
Pfc. Ryan Duman, who learned how vital communication is during the exercise said, "I think it's a good way to exercise movements as a team as well as coming together and collaborating and just putting what we've learned so far to work."
"It's more fun than the ones we normally do, a nice change of [pace]," said Pvt. Tyler Beggett of the exercise. "The sergeants know a lot more than we do about combat, and we still need to keep training and working on becoming better Soldiers every day."
1st Sgt. Darrell Beasley, Alpha Company, 305th MI Bn., spoke of the importance of Soldiers in the intelligence field needing to learn warrior tasks and battle drills.
"It is important to make sure the Soldiers are prepared for wherever their final units are when they leave, because some of these kids could be put in units that will be deploying into a combat zone within a couple of weeks so we have to make sure they are prepared," Beasley said. "We want them to understand what it's like to have that type of stress of the battle field on them and know what's it's like to control a larger element other than one person."
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