CAMP MERRILL, Ga. - A new four-story rappel and climb tower has given the Army an added boost in Ranger training's mountain phase.
Just a few hundred yards outside the main camp on the outskirts of Dahlonega, home to the 5th Ranger Training Battalion, the facility opened in late summer, replacing a wooden structure that had been used since the early 1960s. It's run by Dave O'Rear, a mountaineering training specialist and retired first sergeant hired to lead the unit's mountaineering program about five years ago.
"The old one had become a burden - we were spending an extraordinary amount of time and effort just to maintain it ... It was equal to an old barn built in the 1950s," O'Rear said. "Most of the towers on Fort Benning are for rappelling or climbing only, but this is a true multiuse facility. We can do dozens of different things here."
The complex measures 30 feet tall and each side is 30 feet wide. There are two rock-climbing walls and windows were installed to practice second-level entry and exit. The wooden floors feature classroom and instruction areas.
The facility, which took over a year to build but cost under $750,000, also is a training platform for casualty evacuation, rope climbing, fast roping and building sweeps.
The new tower has 16 rappel lanes, compared to a dozen on the old wall. O'Rear said setup and inspection for night training is easier and safer because there are interior lights. It can accommodate 120 trainees an hour, twice as many as before.
"It's easier to cycle students through this one," he said. "It's much more efficient as far as student movement ... This one is virtually maintenance-free for the most part."
He said bugs, termites and snakes infested the old tower. A concrete retaining wall was put up in its place. During construction, the Army worked closely with the National Forest Service, which owns the land.
"The old tower had become a sinkhole. We were throwing good money after bad," said LTC Chris Stone, the 5th Ranger Training Battalion commander. "It was too much to keep up. Drainage off the hill was a problem because of the wood.
"This is a good investment and big improvement."
O'Rear said the tower is the opening phase of mountaineering training before students go to nearby Mount Yonah for the advanced tier. While the facility is primarily in place for Ranger students, units from all four service branches use it.
Military mountaineering techniques have evolved significantly since Sept. 11, he said. Training has become more tactical to better prepare troops for Afghanistan rotations.
"We refer to it as mountain mobility training, more so than mountaineering," O'Rear said. "We're training guys to move in the mountains ... The new tower has made it much more efficient for us. We can do a lot more things."
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New rappel tower a boost to Ranger mountain training
Vince Little, The Bayonet
TOWER: The 5th Ranger Training Battalion opened a new rappel and climb tower in late summer. It replaced a wooden structure built in the early 1960s.
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