FORT McCOY, Wis. -- As the temperatures soared closed to triple digits, a mixed team of Soldiers from the 417th Engineer Company and the 306th Engineer Company performed final Pre-Combat Inspection and Pre-Combat Checklist in preparation for the culmination of their convoy lane training during Warrior Exercise 86-16-03 here.
At the staging area, First Army observer coach/trainers (OC/Ts) were waiting for the unit. The OC/Ts were members of the 3-340th Brigade Engineer Battalion based out of Fort McCoy, Wis., and part of First Army Division West's 181st Infantry Brigade. For the WAREX, the 181st was supplying more than 170 OC/Ts to support the multicomponent training. In addition to First Army, a number of both active and Reserve units from across the country supported the exercise. These included the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who supervised the scenarios during the training, and soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, New York, who played the role of enemy combatants during the training.
The convoy lane ahead of the combined unit was a formidable foe with five different scenarios that the unit would have to successfully complete in order to finish the mission. Each realistic scenario was developed from lessons learned and refined during conflicts around the world. "If the training is realistic, the troops give 110 percent during the training," said Captain Jared Budenski, Team III Officer in Charge for the 3-340th Brigade Engineer Battalion, and the OC/T team leader for this convoy lane. "If the training is not realistic, Soldiers lose enthusiasm and just go through the motions."
One of the scenarios involved an emplaced Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and ambush by OPFOR when the team reacted to it. "The training on the lane has been up and down during the Exercise" said Spc. Parker Popp of the 76th Training Division out of Milwaukee and scenario team leader. "The lanes are the perfect place to make mistakes and learn as opposed to an actual mission." The combined engineer team reacted to the ambush and successfully recovered the disabled vehicle.
At the end of the convoy, the team gathered to do an After Action Review of the lane, led by the OIC's. While tired and hot, the team was still very enthusiastic and listened intently while the AAR was completed. While there were a number of areas that they felt they needed additional training on, the common theme was that the training was great and really helped them in their warrior skills, which was the main focus of the WAREX.
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