FORT SILL, Okla. Nov. 19, 2015 -- Twelve Fort Sill Soldiers, including Distinguished Honor Graduate Capt. Aaron Lancaster, graduated Oct. 26, from Air Assault School at Fort Hood, Texas.
Working as a team the Fires Center of Excellence Soldiers became a distinguished dozen graduating at a 75-percent rate (12 of 16 Soldiers who attended) as compared to a number closer to 50 percent for the rest of the class.
Other Fort Sill graduates were: 428th Field Artillery Brigade -- 1st Lt. Dominic Shababy and Sgts. Dakota Fingerson and James Kraner; 75th Field Artillery Brigade -- Staff Sgt. Jon Warden, Spc. Alfredo Rivera, Pfc. Brandon Delcastillo; Fort Sill Medical Activity -- Sgt. Macangelo Fobitzshi; and
31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade -- Spc. Rodolfo Cadena.
Of the four who didn't graduate, two were felled by injuries. All four may, at command discretion, return at a later date to complete the school.
Lancaster said Team Sill was at its finest in a setting where many Soldiers didn't have noncommissioned officers or seasoned Soldiers helping them deal with the demands of the course.
"We had more mature personnel -- a slightly higher rank group going -- and we were all looking out for each other," said Lancaster, an administrative law attorney for the Fort Sill Office of the Staff Judge Advocate. "We stayed in barracks, and everyone checked their roommate's stuff each night; helped each other pack their ruck sacks, be on time and have everything needed for class."
Before the school began Soldiers had to complete a timed two-mile run and an obstacle course on Day Zero. Failing either event would prevent them from beginning the school. For those who did, a 10-day course followed with instruction and tests in combat-assault and sling-load operations, and rappelling.
Throughout the course, students received packing lists with 40-50 items they had to pack in their ruck sacks or carry on their Army Combat uniforms. Forgetting any item dropped students from the class.
Also, uniforms had to be worn with all pockets buttoned, Velcro fastened and boots properly tied. Failures there weren't quite as tight -- Soldiers got points taken off for anything that wasn't right. But, if that point total reached 40, again that Soldier failed.
Finally, the school wrapped up with a 12-mile ruck march, which students had to complete in three hours or less. Instructors then did a final inspection of required gear. Again, no freebies -- miss something here like a Soldier who didn't pack one item -- and it's a washout to a later class, to redo the ruck march and final inspection.
The captain said going to an Army school is all about learning "the game," such as instructors asserting their authority and putting students through grueling physical training sessions.
"The entire purpose of air assault is trying to weed out the people who aren't disciplined and those who can't focus," he said. "They're also intent to make you feel bad about something you did or didn't do."
Like Lancaster, Staff Sgt. John Keene also returned to Fort Sill with an award as he finished first in the 12-mile ruck march. Being competitive by nature, Keene wanted to do better than his peers so he set that as his goal.
But, the NCO from Headquarters and Head-quarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 13th Field Artillery was focused on more than his own achievements. He and Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Garcia headed up the NCO effort inspecting Soldiers to make sure the Fort Sill contingent was squared away each day.
Having attended Army schools before, he knew what to expect. He said the hardest part of the course was seeing younger Soldiers who failed for one reason or another. He said he believed those Soldiers "didn't know what to expect from the school or their leadership didn't set them up for success."
Keene said the school was good and graduating from it, a great way for younger Soldiers to stand out from their peers.
"I tell younger Soldiers don't flat line -- don't sit stagnant in your career. If you want to make it a career, you are fighting for promotion so air assault school could be the difference in making rank," he said. "Always try to excel, even if you're only in for four years -- you're working for the Army, so let the Army work for you."
Spc. Jordan Davis was one of the young Soldiers from Fort Sill who benefited from the group input. A recent arrival to the Army in January 2014, Davis said nightly study sessions helped him pass the tests.
The 3rd Battalion, 2nd Air Defense Artillery specialist said the physical part of training was more rough than he thought it would be. However, he got ready for those rigors as he ruck marched a lot conditioning his body for the school. That preparation paid off as he said the 12-mile ruck march was easier for him.
"Anyone who wants to go, prepare your body and train a lot," he said. "Don't expect to just go there and you'll get trained while you're there."
One subject most Soldiers couldn't prepare for was sling load training. Students were taught six load items, four would be tested. Before testing, instructors put in four deficiencies in each item and students had to find three within two minutes to pass.
"That's not something you can prepare for unless you have sling load equipment," said Lancaster.
Each day they received about 12 hours instruction on how to follow a specific order or checklist to locate discrepancies. Lancaster said checking a Humvee required focus to follow the order and not skip ahead if they saw something amiss. After class ended for the day instructors offered extra training for those interested; everyone from Fort Sill stayed for the added one- to two-hour sessions.
Regardless of what was tested or expected, Lancaster said discipline carried Soldiers to success.
"Air assault is jumping out of an airplane, rappelling down or sling loading equipment to a helicopter; you miss something or something goes wrong, it not only destroys your stuff but it also could take down the helicopter. You don't want anybody who doesn't have the discipline necessary to make sure they're checking things properly," he said.
Fires Center of Excellence (FCoE) and Fort Sill Command Sgt. Maj. Brian Lindsey credited the Soldiers and FCoE staff members, who ran the Combat Obstacle Course here, for work they did about a year in advance preparing the Soldiers to go to the school.
"Every Soldier must go through several challenging events prior to getting the OK to head to Fort Hood," he said. "We have great Soldiers in the Fires community who probably never thought they would be afforded the opportunity to attend Air Assault School while stationed at Fort Sill."
Lancaster said the group was focused on making sure everybody passed, not only for themselves but for the post, too.
"We all knew previous classes didn't do well so we wanted to excel so the people coming after us could have that opportunity to go," he said.
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