YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea -- Weighed down by heavy body armor and assault packs, the Soldiers of the 106th Medical Detachment trudged along the snow-packed roads of Camp Casey Feb. 26.
An unexpected snow storm the night before had left the roads icy and slick. Soldiers had trouble keeping their balance with the heavy loads they carried.
Several lost their footing, earning occasional bruise thighs to go along with the blisters on their feet.
By mile five they were cold and tired, but relieved. The march was almost over and marked the last day of a week-long training exercise which took the Soldiers out of their normal environment -- ensuring food safety and distributing medication -- into a field environment that taxed the limits of their physical endurance and adaptability.
While the training may not have seemed "hard core" to some, it was a far cry from the office environment the Soldiers were used to.
"Not only did this exercise have a variety of physical training programs, but also it taught me how to be prepared for unexpected situations," Chief Warrant Officer 4 Tony D. Hemphill, 106th Medical Detachment. "Things (on the actual battlefield) sometimes don't work out as you planned. The important thing, however, is to remember to have a Soldierly attitude to deal with it. This exercise was a really good example to learn it."
According to Detachment Operations Officer Maj. Caven Pecher, the training, which lasted from Feb. 21 through Feb. 26 wasn't just an exercise in winter camping, but a chance to give Soldiers a chance to learn battlefield skills such as casualty evacuation, reaction to chemical weapons and small arms proficiency.
In addition to the ruck march, participants simulated loading casualties onto helicopters, qualified on their rifles and gained confidence their chemical protective masks by taking turns in a gas chamber.
Pecher, who planned the exercise, said Soldiers participating were highly motivated and she was impressed with their progress.
"It was a tough exercise for Soldiers. It required them to challenge their physical limits in many of the training programs such as ruck march," she said. "However, I'm proud of my Soldiers who bravely faced it and finished the exercise successfully."
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