Wisconsin Soldiers complete annual training, continue to stand ready

By Tech. Sgt. Jon LaDue

Wisconsin National Guard

After more than 10 years of continuous deployments, Wisconsin National Guard Soldiers continue to train and maintain their skills and proficiencies at stateside bases during annual training.

For some Soldiers in the 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery, this year's annual training is also a chance to hone their skills for deployment. Bravo Battery of Plymouth, Wis., is expected to deploy later this fall to conduct a field artillery mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

But Bravo's mission at present is to take part in traditional field training with the rest of the battalion.

"We shoot, move and communicate - that's what we train on during annual training," said Maj. Paul Kapinski, the battalion's operations officer assigned to Headquarters Battery.

The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) battalion - consisting of the Milwaukee-based Headquarters Battery, Bravo Battery, and Battery C and the 108th Forward Support Company in Sussex, Wis. - worked together to accomplish eight missions, firing 30 training rockets across Fort McCoy June 28.

Fire missions originate at the brigade or battalion level and are sent to the battery and platoon level. The launcher vehicles pull out of hiding places to fire one of three types of missions: "on my command," "when ready," and "time-on-target." Then it's off to a new hiding place until the next fire mission comes down.

To meet the annual certification requirement, HIMARS units must successfully complete tasks down to the individual launcher and ammo section. This year, however, over the course of this and an earlier annual training session in April, the 121st achieved battalion certification.

Helping the artillery crews in the field is the 108th Forward Support Company's job, working behind the scenes to provide fuel, food and ammo to all HIMARS crews.

"We're pretty much on call for everything," said Sgt. Ashley Mullis, a heavy vehicle driver for the 108th. "If it wasn't for the forward support, they wouldn't be able to complete their mission. That's a big sense of accomplishment for us."

1st Sgt. Arthur Pronschinske, the senior enlisted leader for the 108th, said working toward a common goal is what drill and annual training is all about.

"It just hones their skills ... coming together as a larger picture," Pronschinske said. "They are a deploying unit and we want to support them so they can accomplish their tasks for deployment."

The last time the battalion deployed in 2006, it was to perform a convoy escort mission. Soldiers in Battery B are looking forward to finally deploy using the skills they devote most of their time to perfect.

"I don't believe the Wisconsin artillery has ever been used as an artillery unit in a contingency plan," Kapinski said. "It could be pretty historic for the battery."

South Dakota National Guard kicks off international exercise Golden Coyote

By Army National Guard Maj. Anthony Deiss

South Dakota National Guard

RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota National Guard's 28th annual Golden Coyote training exercise is underway in Rapid City and the southern Black Hills, with more than 2,200 service members participating from across the country and the world.

The two-week training exercise, which began June 9 and is scheduled to continue until June 23, allows military forces to conduct combat support and combat service support missions in a realistic training environment and provide valuable services to the public.

Created in the mid-1980s with the cooperation of the National Forest Service and Custer State Park, the exercise provides relevant training opportunities in support of overseas contingency operations and homeland defense. Golden Coyote has developed into one of the nation's top training opportunities for National Guard, Reserve and active-duty forces, as well as military personnel from foreign countries.

"This exercise is a great opportunity for units to tailor their training to their needs," said Army Brig. Gen. Jeff Marlette, commander of forces for Golden Coyote. "Nationwide there are very few exercises that are designed for National Guard, U.S. Reserve and international forces to come together and train. It helps to prepare units to be able to go abroad and support operations overseas, as well as train on homeland security missions right here in the United States."

There are 37 units representing 17 states, and six foreign nations participating in the exercise from multiple branches of military service – Army, Navy, and Air Force – working together to create an invaluable training experience. This includes medical, chemical, transportation, signal, aviation, military police, engineer and quartermaster units. These military forces train on their equipment and employ tactics to prepare them for any future overseas deployment.

"Military forces are able to participate in numerous warrior training tasks and battle drills, such as urban combat operations, medical aid, and day and night convoy operations," said Army Maj. Travis Eastman, exercise coordinator.

Units can also participate in combat patrols, fire arms training and reacting to improvised explosive devices, Eastman said.

Participating units also complete various projects that help improve the forest and local communities. Local residents receive numerous benefits of the many engineering projects being conducted during the training exercise.

Units will be repairing roadways, providing reclamation of hazardous wilderness areas and hauling cut timber from the forest.

"We have transportation units moving timber cut by the National Forest Service for fire control purposes to Native American reservation communities who can use it as firewood," Eastman said. "Our engineers will also repair hazardous wilderness areas and make them safe for public use, and re-surface local roadways that have fallen into disrepair."

"This exercise is a great testament to how we come together with the civilian public," Marlette said. "We coordinate with the National Forest Service, Custer State Park and other local agencies, and the event allows both their agencies and us to be better prepared to meet homeland security missions and provide services to the public."

This year's exercise also includes members from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Suriname.

"The training aim for this exercise is the interoperability with our allies and synchronization between different work forces and equipment," said United Kingdom Territorial Army Maj. Andrew Inglis, Headquarters, 71st Engineer Regiment. "We are looking to provide aid to your civil community here; mainly to conduct route construction, hauling missions and other construction projects.

"As combat engineers we are soldiers first, so we will take part in the exercise's warrior lanes," said Inglis. "The majority of [soldiers] here will probably deploy in the next two to three years, so this is a method of the sub-unit commander to look at his people and make sure they are ready to deploy."

"The international units here provide us an opportunity for joint operations that we will conduct serving our counties abroad," Marlette said.

Red Arrow Brigade completes Warfighter exercise

By 1st Sgt. Vaughn R. Larson

Wisconsin National Guard

The Wisconsin Army National Guard's 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team last saw significant infantry combat nearly 70 years ago. To maintain those fearsome battlefield skills that earned the Red Arrow its reputation requires practice - but it's difficult to come by large-as-life training scenarios. Homeland security missions as well as deployments conducting missions such as base security, convoy escort and detainee operations have also taken their share of training opportunities that might otherwise go to large-scale infantry operations.

The 32nd Brigade's Warfighter exercise, conducted May 7-16 at Fort McCoy, Wis., provided a virtual battlefield with realistic demands designed to hone battle management skills and point the Red Arrow in the right direction.

"This is something we used to do quite a bit back before 2001," said Lt. Col. Michael George, 32nd Brigade executive officer. "By and large, the young enlisted and junior officers have not been on staff as long as some of us older guys, so they have never been through one of these exercises. Then when you add in the complexity of all of our digital systems, that adds another component or dimension. When you look at what we've accomplished these past 10 days, I think it's extraordinary."

The Fort Leavenworth, Kan.-based Mission Command Training Program has put units ranging from brigades up through corps through the virtual wringer since the 1980s to teach commanders and their staffs how to manage offensive and defensive operations.

"We came here to meet some training objectives," said Col. Thomas Christensen, commander of Operations Group Bravo which ran the exercise, "and I think we did that. We've seen some great improvement throughout the exercise."

One of the first casualties in the exercise was the flow of information. As the Warfighter continued, staff members and subordinate units improved how they communicated vital information to paint the most accurate picture possible of the battlefield.

"What gives us agility? Our ability to know our situation," Christensen said. "Commanders, we have agility because we understand what is happening and we can adjust off the plan … there's always something else we need to be looking at and tracking."

"That's really hard work [when] the guys you get data from are fully engaged," said Col. Martin Seifer, 32nd IBCT commander.

Maj. Gen. David Elicerio, commander of the Minnesota Army National Guard's 34th Infantry Division, served as the commander of the exercise's notional 52nd Infantry Division during the latter days of the exercise. He lauded the 32nd Brigade as a learning organization.

"There was nobody in this organization who said, 'We're as good as we can get,'" Elicerio observed. "The trick is, how do we get to where we need to be? Look and see what you can inculcate into your culture - that's when you're winning on this thing."

Randy Anderson, a retired brigadier general who served as a senior mentor for the exercise, agreed.

"If anybody feels bad about their performance, don't - I think you learned a lot," Anderson said. "You will never learn a lesson until you burn your fingers … We weren't expecting perfection - we were expecting improvement."

Anderson said that many of the skills called for in Warfighter exercises have atrophied over the past 10 years. 32nd Brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Rafael Conde acknowledged that the learning curve was steep.

"I think you guys came to the fight and you had a hard task," Conde said. "I think we learned a lot. We grew a lot in the last four days."

Conde challenged the brigade to consider how to achieve a "return on investment" from the exercise within the constraints of a limited training calendar.

George said the Warfighter succeeded in revealing what the 32nd is good at and where it can improve.

"The exercise really gave us a look at how we go from here into the future - how we set up and operate these digital systems, how we organize as a brigade headquarters, how we conduct planning," George said. "The exercise was useful in showing us the big picture."

Seifer noted that the operation order developed for the exercise contained specific training objectives, but winning the battle was not one of them.

"As I look through there, we did every one of [the training objectives] well, some better than others, and some we did really well," Seifer said. "We took huge steps in the last 10 days."

Christensen applauded the Red Arrow.

"It was great to work with you guys here," he said. "This is a great organization - the 32nd is motivated, ready to learn, ready to get better."

Wyoming Air National Guard participates in first-of-its-kind state exercise

By Air National Guard 1st Lt. Rusty Ridley

Wyoming National Guard, 153rd Airlift Wing

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (5/21/12) - In a first for the state of Wyoming, Air National Guard members of the 153rd Airlift Wing participated in a Strategic National Stockpile exercise named Prairie Eagle May 14, 2012, delivering simulated vaccines via a C-130 Hercules in conjunction with the Wyoming Department of Health.

 While the Wyoming Air Guard and the Wyoming DoH flew a mission to Jackson Hole, Wyo., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was on-hand, inspecting the department’s ability to receive, deliver and distribute medical vaccines and supplies to various parts of the state within a specified timeframe from a distribution point in Cheyenne.

“If the supplies were to be driven to Jackson Hole, it would have taken over nine hours,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Gary Monroe, the 153rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander. “Working together with the Department of Health and the Wyoming Air National Guard, we delivered in four hours.”

Once the delivery truck arrived at the Wyoming Air National Guard base, Airmen assigned to the 153rd Logistics Readiness Squadron’s mall air terminal began unloading, inspecting, weighing, marking and loading the pallets onto the aircraft all under the watchful eye of exercise evaluators. Airmen also flew along to assist with unloading the aircraft in Jackson Hole.

“It helps us identify what we would need by way of equipment and better ways to execute a mission like this,” said Robert Sherard, the Wyoming Department of Health planning coordinator. “It gives us a timeline of unloading the material, loading onto the aircraft, arrival and off-loading again.”

Other agencies in the state also supported the exercise including the Wyoming Department of Homeland Security and the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

“The exercise also helps us identify any other operational considerations we might have missed along the line,” Sherard said. “If we had to deploy this [strategic national stockpile] package, we’re trying to get as much time as we can. We work within a tight window and we’re trying to train well so we can respond well.”

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead was briefed on the exercise and the role of the Wyoming National Guard and how its capabilities and assets can be utilized in times of emergency.

“This mission not only exercises the Air Guard, but the [processes that] the department of health, homeland security and [the] Joint Force Headquarters would need to use and what would be expected if the need were to arise,” Monroe said.

As part of the exercise, Soldiers from the Wyoming Army National Guard were dispatched to Jackson Hole, Casper, Lander and Rock Springs at disbursement sites as they worked with local emergency managers on logistics and security measures.

“It really comes down to being able to help people in the state,” Monroe said. “The training was a win-win for everyone involved.”