FORT SILL, Okla. (Aug. 13, 2015) -- Approaching a security checkpoint a motorist is given a halt handsignal by a Soldier.
Not really understanding the gesture, the foreigner continues driving up to the gate. More Soldiers emphatically give variations of Stop! and ready their rifles. He gets the message and stops his truck. The driver is told to shut off the engine, to exit the truck and to produce credentials. Then his vehicle is searched.
This was one scene at the Little Chicago training area Aug. 8, as the 241 Soldiers of F Battery, 1st Battalion, 40th Field Artillery began their weeklong Field Training Exercise III -- using everything they've learned in Basic Combat Training.
The procedures they practiced included cordon-and-search of buildings, encountering improvised explosive devices, first aid and operating as squad fire team wedges in an urban firefight, said Capt. Garrett Bailey, F/1-40th FA battery commander.
"They're demonstrating everything that we've taught them up to week seven, so we can gauge how well they've been trained," Bailey said. "We see how well Soldiers can react to direct contact, and how they assess and correct a situation."
CONEX complex
Little Chicago is made up of CONEX (military shipping container) structures to replicate a small Middle Eastern village.
"We make this as realistic as possible," Bailey said. "We have a mosque and a speaker system. This morning the Soldiers woke up to a call for prayers which they're not used to."
Spc. Dyllan Wloch, F/1-40th FA, stood guard over a stack of rifles as his fellow Soldiers consumed MREs for lunch. He said they all were learning to work as a team as they cleared buildings.
"We're learning to work together as a small group (five Soldiers) and working with another team, who is usually right behind us as we go into a building after we've cleared the first room," said Wloch, who along with the rest of F Battery will graduate Aug. 21.
The BCT Soldiers rotated through the various training scenarios. In one of those they portrayed opposition forces complete with robes, language barriers and belligerence toward Soldiers.
From a rooftop, "insurgent" Pvt. Jordan Bayless, F/1-40th FA, scanned the horizon for troop movement. He carried an M249 squad automatic weapon armed with blanks, like all the Soldiers' rifles.
"My role is to ambush the approaching U.S. patrol and see if they can suppress me," Bayless said.
The Soldier spoke of teamwork's value in an urban combat environment.
"All the Soldiers in the squad have to perform their roles or else the whole operation falls apart," he said. "If you can effectively communicate with your squad members and team leaders then you can complete your mission."
Drill sergeants were positioned throughout Little Chicago to cue the squad attacks, shout out maneuvers and cease fire and assess the squad actions for the safety of the Soldiers.
"It's not just cowboys and Indians," Bailey said. "It's a very controlled environment, like a scripted movie."
FTX III had been preceded by FTX I, in Week 3, which was primarily classroom work, the battery commander said. In Week 5, the Soldiers performed FTX II for a couple days in the field as they walked through the various training events.
The previous FTXs were a good foundation for FTX III, said Pvt. Brianna Hurst, F/1-40th FA, as she maintained security at a roadblock.
"They were great prepartion because they gave you a heads-up in what you'll see in combat," said Hurst, who will train further to become a corrections specialist.
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