FORT DRUM, N.Y. (May 19, 2016) -- Three months ago, Soldiers of B Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI), marched into Magrath Gym after returning from a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan.
In the short time since then, they have reset equipment and taken opportunity leave, and they are now preparing to fight and win this nation's wars once again.
"The unit's focus since we have redeployed and returned from block leave has been leaning towards individual skills training," said Sgt. 1st Class Jesse Thurman, platoon sergeant. "So far, it has been a lot of weapons density ranges, (light and heavy) machine guns, and the M4 (rifle) have been the focus through about a week and a half ago."
Thurman continued to say that their focus shifted towards enhanced training techniques that would aid in their door-breaching abilities and hand grenade accuracy.
Soldiers put their demolitions training to the test May 5-6 by building, emplacing and detonating multiple door breaching charges, throwing inert and live hand grenades, and firing simulated 9 mm anti-tank rocket rounds on Fort Drum's training area.
"This is a little bit of enhanced training at the individual level that goes beyond the normal skill set," Thurman explained. "Particularly the demolitions, it's advanced training for the guys, to help them with some of the stuff we have coming up later this year."
To accomplish these tasks, the unit relied heavily on combat engineers assigned to 41st Brigade Engineer Battalion to teach the enhanced explosive techniques used to breach doors and leaders organic to the company to train their Soldiers on how to safely employ hand grenades using the crawl, walk, run method of teaching.
"As with any training, the hand grenade range implemented the crawl, walk, run model," explained Sgt. James Carty, team leader, B Company, 4-31 Infantry. "Soldiers threw the grenade bodies for practice and familiarization with the range.
Then they graduated to the M228 simulation fuse, which they were evaluated on their ability to throw, and after that they were pushed through to the M67 live hand grenade range. So the preparation was a lot like the dry, blank and live fire of infantry maneuver drills."
Carty continued to explain that without the tiered system of evaluation, there is no real way of gauging whether or not a Soldier is ready to safely progress to the next level of training.
While some might assume that all infantry Soldiers are taught these techniques, Thurman would argue that these skill sets are unique to the 10th Mountain Division.
"I've had 10 years here with 2nd BCT," Thurman said. "Other duty stations (where) I've been, this training was not conducted. The training that we are doing here, with the experiences that I've had in other places, has been pretty unique to 10th Mountain."
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