FORT STEWART, GA -- The battle buddy is a simple term that is the epicenter of the Army's foundation of teamwork. It can give Soldiers strength and the confidence that the men and women around them will stand strong, even in the thick of battle.
For the Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, building the foundation of a team was key during training held at Hunter Army Airfield Feb. 18-20.
The training which included clearing, react-to-contact and air assault drills centered on building cohesion as a team, said Lt. Col. Daniel Cormier, 1/30th Inf., 2nd BCT, commander.
"We've recently completed weapons qualifications up to crew-serve weapons systems, and the major hurdle, the Expert Infantry Badge qualification," said Cormier.
"Now we have to take what the Soldiers have learned from the individual skills and collectively build a foundation as a team."
Common with most units experiencing redeployment is an influx of new noncommissioned officers as well as fresh Soldiers out of basic who have not experienced a deployment, Cormier said.
"This kind of training is the building blocks of a team, focusing on cohesion and developing team leading skills for NCO's is key to success in combat," he added.
Much of the training focused on Soldiers training Soldiers, allowing new Soldiers to gain knowledge from combat-experienced Soldiers.
"No, try it again, I can see your arm before your rifle clears the entrance," barked Spc. John Meholick, Company A, 1/30th Inf., while instructing Soldiers do the proper way to clear a doorway.
"This is some of the most important training for new Soldiers," Meholick said. "It's been great to get to take the time with new Soldiers and teach them what we have learned from serving in Iraq."
For many of the new Soldiers it was the first time experiencing air assault training and learning highly coordinated team-based room clearing techniques.
The 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade assisted in the training by inserting the teams into the training area.
"It's been a big step from what we learned in basic training; it is definitely on a whole new level," said Pfc. Kenneth Holliday, Co. A, 1/30th Inf.
The training teaches Soldiers how to be constantly aware of their surroundings, and how to fulfill their role within the team Holliday said.
"It's been awesome to see how the skills we learned from Basic Training when combined with the team based training all starts to come together and we can see how everything we learned works in a combat environment," said Holliday.
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