FORT BLISS, Texas - The Mississippi Army National Guard's 1-155th Infantry Regiment trains for real-world missions under the watchful eye of First Army. The goal is to familiarize Soldiers with a rapid response capable of quick mobile reaction in whatever area of responsibility they find themselves in. Soldiers from the regiment perform individual weapons qualification, a mandatory event in annual training. This is the first step in a collective training exercise that will combine mechanized and light infantry maneuvers with sustainment support. Soldiers use this event as a building block toward a Regiment mission.
Sgt. Maj. Brian Ponder of the 1-155th explained the benefit of training. "We are preparing Soldiers to meet the mission demands in an AOR," he said. "First Army uses their expertise in coaching and mentoring Soldiers in their area of expertise to help them meet and react accordingly to any obstacle they may face."
It is First Army's mission to be the final step in a unit's validation process. Utilizing many years of real-world experience, NCOs develop, mentor, and educate Army National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers.
Master Sgt. Benny Modkins of First Army served as a range safety during the exercise.
"We're out here providing support for units that may not have the training capability at a home station,” he said. “Out here we have Simulated Training Exercise (STX) lanes, small arms firing ranges, and gunnery tables to name a few. This helps facilitate large-scale training to meet the demands of the regiment's mission by validating the subordinate unit's lethality and readiness so that each soldier is proficient in their skill set. First Army also provides other support roles as well by filling in and acting as a backup in administrative roles to assure the mission can proceed without incident."
Surrounded by Bradleys, Abrams, and Light Troop Carriers 2nd Lt. Josh Stoger of the 1-155th awaits orders from the top, Today is day zero the first iteration of many in the training for mobile artillery. Stoger explains the expectation and anticipation in working with First Army.
"We're coming from Mississippi, where we don't have the proper space to conduct a lot of these maneuvers with different types of artillery. I'm really looking forward to this exercise, it will be a great learning experience for us to be able to work with such a large number of Soldiers," Stoger said. "First Army has a lot of experience and their OC/Ts can offer different perspectives on ways to do things backed with years of real-world practical knowledge. It will be great for the Soldiers to be exposed to this mentorship to help build their skill set and become proficient in their MOS."
First Lt. Christian Sanchez, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-155th, talked about the benefit of working alongside First Army.
"It's great that First Army is here to share their knowledge with us, granting leaders time and availability to utilize white space to further develop as leaders," Sanchez said. "First Army is vital in the training of new weapon systems for the snipers and scouts. This training really helps the soldiers become familiar and proficient with these new systems. First Army is introducing us to new TTP's to adopt that leadership has not had. The OC/Ts have good information that you wouldn't get from a drill weekend and their outside perspective really helps."
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