FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — On Saturday morning, as sunshine slowly warmed the small valley along the Big Piney River that makes up Training Area 259, the 100 or so trainees of Company E, 701st Military Police Battalion, were given some surprise bad news during their first field-training exercise — the enemy force they were pretending to fight learned their position, and they were being evacuated to Forney Airfield.
For those without a fear of flying, the news then went from bad to good, as they found out the evacuation would take place by air, in a CH-47 Chinook helicopter.
According to 1st Lt. Carlos Paiz, an Echo Company platoon leader and the officer in charge of the FTX, the planned air movement is traditionally included — when an aviation unit is available to assist — in the third and final FTX of the basic combat training portion of MP one station unit training.
“For this cycle, what we wanted to do was set the tone right off the bat,” Paiz said. “We realized we had a smaller class, so we wanted to spend a little bit more time with them, increase their survivability, increase their technical skills, and then also motivate them even more for the cycle.”
Paiz said the trainees have been here for about one month. They completed what’s called Yellow Phase — weeks one and two, when trainees learn about things such as the Army Values and begin physical training — and the first FTX, commonly called “The Hammer,” is the two-day culminating event of Red Phase, which takes place during weeks three and four, when weaponry and combat skills are first taught.
“The intent in FTX No. 1 is to teach the basics — the basics of what it’s like to be a Soldier — how to shoot, move, communicate and survive in the woods, at the individual level and at the team level,” Paiz said, who noted the trainees were given the chance to learn skills such as radio communication, land navigation, movement techniques, face paint and camouflage.
The Chinook flew here from New Century, Kansas — a suburb of Kansas City — where it’s assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, an Army Reserve unit. Paiz called the crew “phenomenal” to work with.
“We’ve had them here three times, and they’ve been fully supportive each time,” Paiz said. “They’re easy to work with, and they have that trust with us. They know we’ve got really good cadre here who know what they’re doing, have a lot of experience. We do everything safely and do it right.”
Working to include air movements into the initial Army experiences of their trainees is something the cadre of Echo Company hope will “help instill pride and confidence going forward,” said Staff Sgt. Greg Simpson, an Echo Company senior drill sergeant.
“We’re just trying to make sure they get the best training and they’re the most confident Soldiers that we can push into the force,” Simpson said. “All of the cadre here in Echo Company, the job is important to us — making sure we’re training these future Soldiers to be the best while also helping them to grow as people, be mature and help their way forward in life.”
One of the trainees flown out of TA259 was Spc. Kelly DeVoll, who thought it was “an awesome surprise.”
“It was just a neat experience — definitely once in a lifetime, but hopefully not once in a lifetime,” DeVoll said, adding this was her first experience in a helicopter.
The Littlerock, California, native said she wants to become an Army Psychological Operations Specialist upon completion of MP OSUT here, but in the meantime, she has “all the respect in the world” for her Echo Company cadre.
“They care a lot; they do a great job,” DeVoll said. “I look up to them a lot, and I think doing things, activities like this, is a big motivator for the company. I think it’s a great opportunity for a lot of people. I hope everyone takes this experience and uses it to their advantage.”
Another trainee who enjoyed the Chinook experience was Pfc. Lucas Ambielli, from Naples, Florida, who said he was “proud and honored” that his first helicopter flight was with the Army.
“Especially in a Chinook,” he added. “That’s an amazing experience you don’t get anywhere else.”
Paiz said providing opportunities like this is going to separate these trainees from their peers when they arrive at their first units as Soldiers.
“This is something new that we’ve done here — flying in Red Phase — and I’m really happy with the results,” he said. “I think it’s important to show these trainees that the Army is a phenomenal organization that has different air assets, different mission sets, and seeing how aircraft are integrated into our mission sets as a ground-fighting force is part of that.”
More information on Army BCT is available here.
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