FORT DRUM, N.Y. (April 6, 2017) -- "Be aggressive, be disciplined and get better every day."
Col. Scott Naumann, commander of 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI), was clear on what winning looks like.
Often repeated, this motto paid off.
Soldiers of Task Force Warrior trained hard, learned a lot and made a lasting impression during their monthlong Joint Readiness Training Center rotation at Fort Polk, La.
"I'm proud of you guys," said Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Bannister, 10th Mountain Division (LI) and Fort Drum commander. "It's been a lot of fun watching you all."
Answering the call of the fictitious nation of Atropia, members of Task Force Warrior deployed to blunt the attack of their hostile neighbor, defend the ground they liberated and then attack to remove the invaders from the friendly nation.
The BCT maneuvered across 163 kilometers from the initial staging area to the culminating attack, which is no small feat, given the logistical requirements of the 5,000 Soldier-strong task force.
"The hardest thing I did was the planning to move the brigade," said Maj. Matt Strand, 1st BCT operations officer.
Not only did team members fight their way across Louisiana's unforgiving terrain, they achieved impressive results along the way. Among them was when the Shadow Platoon's ability to fly its unmanned aerial surveillance system set a JRTC record, flying more than 125 hours, despite inclement weather.
Not to be outdone, members of the brigade's electronic warfare section tripled the average number of enemy fire missions thwarted when they denied 18 of them. This rotation saw the first time that the opposing forces, also known as "Geronimo," were unable to retake Hill 95, a key terrain feature, from the rotational unit. Nor were they able to capture the provincial capital of Dara Lam, in stark contrast to most JRTC iterations.
The BCT also saw success with its anti-aircraft capabilities.
"I can't remember the last time we shot something down (at JRTC) with a Stinger (anti-aircraft missile)," Bannister said.
Task Force Warrior was composed of 1st BCT's own seven battalions with a host of enablers ranging from Abrams tanks to a civil affairs company to Apache helicopters and the tank-busting A-10 "Warthog" flying overhead. Last November's Mountain Peak exercise at Fort Drum was the first time that this team from across the nation was able to come together and gel as a fighting force.
A JRTC rotation is not about the accolades of a job well done. It is about taking the unit to the next level.
"We owe the Army a critical look at what we can do better," Naumann said. "At the end of the day, we are a proud organization, but not satisfied."
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