For most, the closest they will come to understanding a Soldier's experience is by watching a film or playing a war-themed video game; however, employees from the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center had a more hands-on experience during a day of teamwork and leadership training at Top Gun Paintball in Jackson, N.J. recently.
This training was offered by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Young AFCEAN Group as part of their Adventure Series Mentorship Program, which motivates career development and educates young members of the AFCEA and Fort Monmouth community on the latest military technologies, said Victor Holinko, co-vice president of the Fort Monmouth Chapter's Young AFCEAN Group.
"We wanted to have an event that incorporated leadership development and team building while giving a unique military perspective. We thought that paintball would be a great vehicle to accomplish these items," said Holinko.
Holinko and Lisa Pandolf, co-vice president of the Fort Monmouth Chapter's Young AFCEAN Group, have organized the paintball Battlefield Strategies/Combat Tactics: Methodologies and Theory Behind Successful Military Endeavors Leadership Training for the last few years. Rusty Caldwell, R4 Incorporated and prior Army Soldier, and Scott Cheseldine, R4 Incorporated and retired Army Soldier, both volunteered their real-world experience and taught the battlefield training for the second year in a row.
When the morning began, Caldwell and Cheseldine taught the group to line up and march in squads. Each squad was assigned a squad leader who would direct the squad through different battlefield scenarios. However, before the squads engaged in Army-like missions, the group was sent to the paintball field to practice firing and become familiar with their equipment. Decked out in camouflage jumpsuits, the two teams shot at one another, trying to decipher who was the enemy and who was a teammate. The high humidity of the morning caused the paintball masks to fog up, only adding to the confusion and likelihood of taking a 'bullet.'
"It hurt, and I've only been shot once so I'm knocking on wood right now," said Adena Artale, Mission First Group, as she knocked on the tree next to her. "I know it's nothing compared to what they [Soldiers] go through, but just a teensy understanding of what they go through helps."
After the first scenario, each member was put in one of the four squads and assigned a battle buddy, teaching them that Soldiers on the battlefield are responsible for one another. The first battlefield strategy the groups practiced was storming a fortress. One squad was placed on the defensive inside a makeshift fort, while the other three squads did their best to overtake it.
"It's a fantastic experience, definitely a lot of fun. I liked the 'storm-the-fortress' scenario," said Alex Oree, CERDEC Command and Control Directorate (C2D). "I think it's important to know what the Soldier actually does in the battlefield."
The following mission was an ambush scenario in a makeshift town. Here, one squad hid inside buildings and attacked the remaining squads as they walked by. To simulate being attacked while inside a vehicle, as Soldiers overseas may be, the squads carried planks of wood, leaving them with only one free hand to defend themselves.
"When we were in the town, I was put in a bunker that was just mud," said Morgan Hansen, CERDEC Software Engineering Directorate. "That was a good time." This was Hansen's second year at the training event, as he and a few others had such a great experience last year they decided to come out again.
The rest of the day consisted of a scenario where squads had to protect an injured member from enemy Soldiers, a scenario where one squad acted as the "traitor" and sold out the other squads to the enemy (resulting in a ambush from behind) and a standard paintball game of capture the flag, where teams had to work together to win.
"I learned that if someone doesn't take a leadership position, chaos will occur," said Travis Stinson, computer scientist with CERDEC C2D. "The army values do apply in all walks of life."
With paint-splattered wounds and tired faces, the squads reconvened with Caldwell and Cheseldine after each mission to review what had happened and what they learned.
"The most memorable moments of the day for me were the times when the battles were done and we recapped, rethought and strategized for the next as a group, and not as individuals," said Stinson.
The Young AFCEAN Adventure Series Mentorship Program has taken participants on military tours, such as to West Point and Picatinny Arsenal. Holinko said they are looking for more engaging experiences for the rest of the series and will continue the paintball training as it is one of their most successful events.
"You get a better understanding of what the Soldier does and goes through because it's kind of similar to what the Greening class was as well," said Richard Kochaniewicz, CERDEC Product Realization Directorate. "It's the same motions and all that, but this time we actually had something flying back at us."
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