Paratroopers train with SUSVs to prepare for winter ops

by Sgt. Brian Ragin
4/25th IBCT Public Affairs

10/9/2014 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Spartan paratroopers with the 725th Brigade Support Battalion (Airborne), 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, participated in a small unit support vehicle driver's training course in preparation for the upcoming winter months at the Malemute Drop Zone Oct. 2.

The SUSV is a tracked, articulated vehicle designed to support infantry platoons and similar-sized units during operations in arctic and alpine environments and conditions. The SUSV can be used in all types of unimproved terrain, such as rocky and boulder-covered land, bog, marsh and water, and can operate in environments varying from arctic cold to tropical heat.

"I think that the SUSV is definitely going to help out with winter operations," said Army Staff Sgt. Nicholas Lucas, the master driver for A Company, 725th BSB. "The more [SUSVs] that we have during winter operations, the more the unit is going to benefit."

The SUSV driver's training is a week-long course. It includes a 40-hour block of instruction taught in classroom and in a field environment. The last three days are spent driving the vehicle. The trainees practiced driving in parking lots with orange-cone obstacles, then headed out to the Malemute DZ's rough terrain to experience the vehicle's capabilities. The final day is a road test when, if they pass, a certificate of completion is awarded.

"I enjoyed the class," said Spc. Andrew James, a Tampa, Florida, native, and a B/725th BSB SUSV mechanic. "It's different from the daily task that we normally do, to get to drive a piece of equipment like this [SUSV] on terrain that I honestly didn't think it could drive through."

"During winter operation out here, [Malemute Drop Zone] gets pretty nasty," Lucas said. "Our [light medium tactical vehicles] and cargo trucks are going to get stuck in the snow and mud, and it's going to be a hard time getting them out, and the SUSV will do just that."

The average annual snowfall at JBER is 68.48 inches, which makes for difficult navigation across unimproved terrain, especially at the drop zone.

"We're an airborne brigade combat team," Lucas said. "We're going to drop heavies. PFAR [2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment] is going to drop their guns. We're going to drop our Humvees. In order to get those pallets out of there, off the drop zone, and get back to the unit 100-percent accountable, a big part of that is going to be the SUSV dragging those pallets back."