FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Nov. 10, 2016) -- The sound of freedom has been ringing out at Fort Drum's Range 44 as the 1st Brigade Combat Team "Warriors" conduct their combined-arms live-fire exercise, or CALFEX, Oct. 25 to Nov. 21.
Both day and night, Apache helicopters skim the tree line as artillery booms in the distance, all tied together by the chattering of machine guns and rifles as infantrymen on the ground move ever forward to seize their objective.
Remotely piloted tactical unmanned aerial systems buzz overhead, providing real-time information from an eye-in-the-sky perspective to the commanders on the ground below.
The brigade has brought all of its combat multipliers to bear during this realistic training opportunity.
"Everything from aviation, indirect fire and direct fire assets that might not be organic to the company -- having all those assets at the commander's disposal gives him the opportunity to flex the force of what an infantry brigade combat team truly is," said Capt. Grayson Ballard, Warrior Brigade chief of future operations and lead planner for the CALFEX.
The scenario includes an early morning air-assault in Chinook helicopters, followed by combat engineer Soldiers, known as "sappers," breaching a concertina wire obstacle and then the infantrymen clearing the objective building by cinder block building.
"The biggest challenge that the companies have faced out here is the sheer size and complexity of the objective," said Lt. Col. Timothy Gittins, commander of 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment. "And I think that in and of itself has just amplified the amount of training that these guys have got."
Referred to as the "King of Battle," artillery plays a key role in the Warrior Brigade's lethal capabilities.
"For artillerymen, the CALFEX is an opportunity to instill confidence in the maneuver commanders of our ability to mass indirect fires in close proximity to their formations, allowing them to maneuver and destroy the enemy," said Lt. Col. Bernard House, commander of 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment.
Companies in all three of the Warrior Brigade's infantry battalions as well as its cavalry squadron troops are rotating through the training, planning for which began in April of this year, according to Ballard.
The many hours of preparation leading to the CALFEX are very much appreciated by the units taking part in the training.
"It's a lot of resources, people, time and energy to put on a first-rate, quality exercise that we've been able to experience," Gittins said. "What it gives us is a tough, realistic look at our selves."
The CALFEX offers many lessons for the units, and each iteration of the training is followed by an after-action review discussing what went well and what could have gone better.
"From the Soldier level up to the company leadership level, everybody has learned," Gittins said. "What makes the company great as a learning organization is that we can take all the repetitions and all the experience and put it together and continue to build."
Planning and facilitating the CALFEX afforded the Warrior Brigade staff a chance to grow as a team.
"This has been an event to bring us all together," Ballard said. "It has helped us to see what we could do once we actually get on the ground and start synchronizing together."
Next up for the brigade is the Mountain Peak exercise here after Thanksgiving and a rotation to the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk, La., in March.
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