Ironhorse Brigade rises to challenge during summer training event

By Staff Sgt. Keith AndersonSeptember 2, 2015

Tow missile
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – FORT HOOD, Texas - Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, fire a tube-launched, optically tracked, wire guided (TOW) missile from their M2A3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle Aug. 19... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Dismounted Infantry
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – FORT HOOD, Texas - Dismounted Infantry from 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, attack an enemy position during a combined arms live fire Aug. 19 at the Crittenberger Multi-purpose Range Comple... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
CALFX
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – FORT HOOD, Texas - Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, fire a 120mm round from their M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank Aug. 19 as part of Ironhorse Challenge, a 16-day combined arms li... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Clearing a lane
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – FORT HOOD, Texas - Combat engineers from the 91st Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, fire a Mine Clearing Line Charge Aug. 15 at the Crittenberger Multi-Purpose Range Complex at Fort Hood, detonating more than 1,500 pounds of C4 exp... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
King of Battle
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – FORT HOOD, Texas - Artillerymen from Battery A, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division Artillery, fire a 155mm round from a M109A6 Paladin as part of a fire coordination exercise Aug. 25, during Ironhorse Challenge, a 16-d... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT HOOD, Texas -- During 16 of the hottest days of the summer, attack aviation crews, combat engineers, dismounted infantry, military police, explosive ordnance disposal teams, tank and Bradley Fighting Vehicle crews, heavy artillery, mortar sections and many other Soldiers took part in a massive exercise in the ranges and impact areas of North Fort Hood, here from Aug. 10 to 25.

Soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division and enablers from other Fort Hood units as well as from Fort Bragg, North Carolina participated in Ironhorse Challenge, a combined arms live-fire maneuver and coordination exercise.

"Ironhorse Challenge was a full-scale training exercise in preparation for our upcoming decisive action rotation at the National Training Center," said Col. John DiGiambattista, 1st ABCT commander. "It gave us the great opportunity to prepare for our nation's call."

The exercise involved complex integration and maneuver planning and implementation from squads through company, battalion and brigade leadership, to not only certify and recertify company and battalion elements, but also to rehearse the military decision-making process, troop leading procedures, synchronizing maneuver with enablers and many other facets of modern warfare.

"Ironhorse Challenge was a tremendous opportunity for the BCT to get the balance of our team in the field training together prior to our rotation at NTC," said Maj. Ed Arntson, brigade operations officer. "It provided the venue to train distributed logistical support, distributed mission command and high quality training events for our companies and battalions."

As part of Ironhorse Challenge, companies from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st ABCT, conducted combined arms live fire exercises at the Crittenberger Multi-Purpose Range Complex at Fort Hood from Aug. 11 to 15, including firing a mine clearing line charge (MCLC) of more than 1,500 pounds of C4 explosive.

"It's always a good day when I get to do my job," said Sgt. Donald Francois, the combat engineer with Company A, 91st Eng. Bn., the unit that fired the MCLC.

In total, nine companies were able to conduct the complex CALFEX training during the exercise, which provided a challenge for both Soldiers and leaders alike.

"It was a great opportunity for leaders to practice the integration of capabilities that are not often available in a training environment," said Lt. Col. Patrick Douglas, commander, 2-8 CAV. "Completing the exercise gave soldiers an increased confidence in their equipment, weapon systems and themselves."

Ironhorse Challenge also featured three fire coordination exercises that included a troop CALFEX alongside attack aviation and Shadow elements and a Table XVIII certification for the 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment -- training designed to help coordinate the efforts of the participating units.

"Our ability to integrate and synchronize multiple assets such as indirect fire, attack aviation and direct fire into this event has significantly enhanced our capabilities," said Lt. Col. Douglas Hayes, commander, 1st Bn., 82nd FAR, 1st ABCT.

Participating in Ironhorse Challenge served as the final step for Ironhorse Soldiers before NTC, following a summer-long series of exercises and certifications.

"We had the opportunity to validate our platoon's proficiency during Ironhorse Challenge," said Sgt. 1st Class Randall Copisky, platoon sergeant, Troop A, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st ABCT. "We made every day better than yesterday. In a short three-month span of time, we qualified all eight vehicle crews, three scout sections, and the entire platoon through stabilized and un-stabilized gunnery Tables 1-12, culminating in the troops fire coordination exercise."