FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Aug. 4, 2016) -- Soldiers assigned to B Company, 210th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, put their readiness to the test during a company-level field training exercise July 25-29 on Fort Drum.
The event evaluated the Soldiers' state of readiness when establishing a functional support service area while protecting themselves against simulated enemy attacks.
"We are validating our ability to conduct our missions of entry control point operations and perimeter security while establishing all of our battle drills," said 1st Sgt. Tyrell J. Tompkins, B Company. "That way we can support the Brigade Support Area and ultimately support the 2nd BCT during decisive actions."
Tompkins also described the event as an opportunity to test his service support shop Soldiers' capacity to perform their jobs in an austere environment.
"We also conducted (vehicle) recover operations, welding missions, (computer) hard drive updates, wheeled vehicle services and supply part updates through the Global Combat Support System-Army," Tompkins said.
Their seemingly day-to-day operations were disrupted July 26 by an attempted perimeter breach from simulated enemy combatants operating in their area.
"Right now we are reacting to contact, and my role is squad leader for the casualty collection point," said Sgt. Ralph Thelusma, allied trade specialist.
The attack produced multiple mock casualties, who were quickly recovered, treated and evacuated to higher levels of medical care by Thelusma's team.
Thelusma admitted that he and his team had not worked closely for long, but their actions that day gave no hint of their lack of familiarity with one another.
"My philosophy is keep it simple, practice scenarios and give everyone specific roles, so they just react instead of thinking about it," he said.
Thelusma added that through teamwork, communication and repetition, anything can be accomplished.
"It's familiarization. The U.S. Army is all about training as close to reality as possible, and that is what we are trying to do today," he said. "So when reality does happen, it won't be a complete shock; the reflexes will still kick in and you'll have an idea of what to do."
Spc. Leonard Blake, wheeled vehicle mechanic and casualty collection point team member, explained the importance of Thelusma's training theory.
"The philosophy of keeping it simple makes it literally like 'Barney style,'" Blake said. "Everything is in a technical manual; like you need to do this, like this, and that's how you get it accomplished. Just keep it as simple as possible so everybody understands."
While simple is best at times, Blake noted that attention to detail also adds to mission success.
"The most important thing I've learned is we have to make sure that when we pick up the casualties we have positive identification of their sensitive items," he said. "If it were a real combat environment, we would pick them up and deliver them to the command post. That's the most important thing, because if we lose equipment, we are down a weapons system, and that's not good."
For Tompkins, the end of this training exercise is and has always been Soldier readiness.
"It's imperative that Soldiers understand how to operate tactically, whether they're a logistician, mechanic or missile systems repairer. If you cannot protect yourself in a tactical environment, you are not going to be afforded the opportunity to support the brigade," Tompkins said. "If they're not ready as an individual, whether it's mind or body, they cannot deploy to a tactical environment and do their mission."
Tompkins added that this exercise is a stepping stone to the larger battalion- and brigade-level exercises scheduled for later this year.
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