FORT STEWART, Ga. - Soldiers of Company D, 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division executed Hydra Focus at Fort Stewart, Georgia, March 7-11.
Hydra Focus was a training event to assess proficiency of common Soldier tasks and specific military intelligence skills, such as reconnaissance, surveillance, signals intelligence analysis and development of situational understanding, as well as strengthen leadership capabilities of junior enlisted Soldiers.
Company D possesses the capability to gain, analyze, process and distribute strategic and tactical intelligence according to Staff Sgt. Robert Rivera, unmanned aircraft systems repairer and platoon sergeant. The company uses a variety of different technologies to provide Army personnel with information about enemy forces and potential battle areas.
"With Hydra Focus, we are evaluating Soldier warrior and [military occupational specialty] skills," said 2nd Lt. Garrett Templet, platoon leader with Company D. "We are also focusing on developing leadership skills, so this event is being completely executed by junior leaders."
Junior enlisted leaders were provided with an outline of events and standards for completion required during Hydra Focus. This allowed time to identify and address needs independently within their squads prior to the event.
"Soldiers were evaluated to standard on land navigation, battle drills and medical during the first portion of the training," Templet said.
When evaluating military occupational specialty, MOS, based skills, Soldiers were assessed using a holistic process, according to Templet.
"When assessing the different MOSs, Soldiers were assessed on the overall operation of the task," Templet said. "This is because some missions we are unable to complete due to elements that are out of our control, such as weather. The aircraft we use for reconnaissance cannot be used in all weather."
Each Soldier was evaluated by company leadership on their performance upon the completion of the training event. Hydra Focus training ensured the readiness of Company D Soldiers.
"The training event overall has been a success," Rivera said. "We have been able to get our crew chiefs trained up and built on their confidence by giving them more responsibilities."
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