FORT POLK, La. -- It's not every day that civilians get to fly in a C-130, witness an airborne jump, hitch a ride in CH-47 Chinook helicopters and experience the bone-shaking realism of Fort Polk's Joint Readiness Training Center. A group of 30 congressional staffers got to do just that Aug. 25-27 at JRTC and Fort Polk. Staffers from the offices of U.S. senators and congressmen visit two Army installations each year to learn about the military and Fort Polk has hosted for the past two years.
"Our goal for the visit was to show the staffers JRTC's training capabilities and give them an appreciation for what it takes to train the individual Soldier," said Maj. Joshua Snyder, chief, G3 planning, JRTC Operations Group. "We demonstrated multifaceted training, highlighting the installation and what we do for brigade combat teams before they deploy." Snyder, along with the installation protocol office, spearheaded the planning and execution of the visit.
The congressional staff boarded a Marine C-9 airplane in Washington, D.C. on the morning of Aug. 25, landed in Alexandria, La. and transferred to an Air Force C-130, where 14 Fort Polk Soldiers were waiting to perform an airborne jump. After a short, 20-minute flight to Fort Polk's Geronimo drop zone, the staff had a front-row seat for the jump.
"The staff members observed the absolutely vital integration of joint operations," said Lt. Col. William Engberg, 19th Airlift Wing, Little Rock Air Force Base, Little Rock, Ark. "Marines brought them here, the Air Force made the combat delivery, Army airborne Soldiers took the objective area. All of the services worked like gears in a Swiss watch: In harmony, on time and on target."
"Joint training is one of the hallmarks of the Operations Group," Snyder said.A,A "Through the use of established joint planning practices and precoordination, we were able to successfully interface Marine and Air Force airlift assets into the reception phase of the operation."
"The jump was an absolute success," Engberg agreed. "We were commenting throughout the entire flight home about how well it went. The Army and the Soldiers at Fort Polk have my respect - it makes me want to do everything I can to make them successful. It was a textbook mission."
After the airborne operation, the visitors moved to North Fort Polk to observe a demonstration of the realism provided by the JRTC roleplayers and opposing forces.
The second day began with breakfast at the 162nd Infantry Brigade dining facility, where the staff received a briefing on the brigade's role in training combat advisors.
Later, the staffers rolled up their sleeves at one of Fort Polk's weapons ranges and spent some hands-on time with nearly every weapon in the Army's arsenal, including M4s, .50 caliber machine guns and mortars. They also received a crash course in combat first aid, and applied dressings and tourniquets to simulated wounds at a trauma lane provided by the 162nd.
The next stop was a situational training exercise lane, where the visitors witnessed a rotational training unit convoy get attacked by OPFOR and experienced the full effect of a JRTC village full of Iraqi roleplayers.
After learning about the warfighting aspect of the Army's operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the staffers stopped by JRTC's "engagement university," a mock village where rotational units hone their negotiation and cultural skills.
Of all the sites he visited, the Engagement University made the biggest impact on Blake Hulnick, a staffer for Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, representing California's 14th Congressional district.
"It was fun shooting guns," he said. "But as far as getting a sense of what happens during a deployment and what Soldiers are prepared for, this is educational. This is the part I can least imagine while sitting in Washington, D.C. - how Soldiers get prepared to sit in a room and talk to people with whom they have no cultural reference point."
James Langenderfer is on the staff of Jean Schmidt, who represents Ohio's 2nd Congressional district. Langenderfer served in the Army and said he is awed with Fort Polk's offerings.
"I went through two rotations at Fort Polk. The last time I was here was 2005, and the level of training and interactions we've seen today were not in place when I was here," he said. "When I was here before, simulated injured personnel were assessed based on a card in their pocket, but now they're actually bleeding with makeup. It's so much better."
"It seems like a fascinating place - there is a lot going on," Hulnick agreed. "This post is making a major effort to prepare (Soldiers) for what they will face. I'm impressed."
The visitors spent their last day touring Picerne Military Housing, Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital, Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation facilities and the Main Post Exchange. "They got to see Fort Polk as a whole, the training center and the garrison," Snyder said. "We were able to package the entire installation as an Army community. They also got to talk to some spouses.
"The staffers seemed to be pleased with the experience and have requested a lot more basic information about the Army. They were inquisitive about individual training, our quarters, the installation, the Army rank structure. It was eye-opening for them and us - they asked us some hard questions. It opened a line of communication."
Fort Polk is already looking forward to the possibility of another visit next year. "It's a reasonable assumption that they'll be back next year," Snyder said. "Last year they observed, this year they participated. Next year we might put them in cultural garb and let them roleplay. We're going to capture everything we learned from this visit and use it as the baseline for future visits."
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