The Agony of Mobilization, Part 2

(written on/about July 13, 2007)

The actual training associated with mobilization was quite useful, although the training staff was stretched to their limits to keep up with the demands of our unit. A “normal” unit arriving at a mobilization station is usually 150 personnel or less; our unit arrived with nearly 400 personnel at varying stages of their training. A unit of our size really wreaks havoc on the support system needed for training. Ammunition, transportation to the training sites, food at the training sites, staff to conduct the training and equipment to train on all need to be arranged. In addition, our trainers have to keep meticulous records to track each individual’s completion of required training events. If that wasn’t enough, our unit is staffed with a number of senior officers and NCOs and it seems that EVERYONE has an opinion or a better way to run training.

We conducted our training in two phases. The first phase, which occurred before we arrived at our mobilization station, was largely individual tactical training and introductory convoy operations training. Our time was spent practicing basic soldier skills such as low crawling while under fire, basic first aid, visual signals, radio operations, etc. For some of us—including me—it had been a long, long time since we had practiced these skills. It was a good refresher and I learned quite a bit about the newer equipment we would be using. The unit split up into two large groups for this phase of training. One group suffered through the training in late March/early April at a base in the mid-Atlantic—and got to endure cold conditions and a bit of snow. The second group trained in late April at the base where we would return for mobilization—and got an early taste of the heat and humidity we would soon experience. I ended up in the second group as I was fortunate enough to attend an Army school I desperately need to learn my new duties (the “Support Operations Course”) during March.

To manage such a large group, we were split into a number of smaller training groups of about 30 to 40 soldiers. This complicated the organization and logistics of training somewhat but was rather enjoyable since it gave us a chance to meet (and train with) soldiers from outside of our normal work groups. In a unit of nearly 400 folks, it would be otherwise hard to meet everyone. In my case, I was also blessed to have my two of my great NCOs in the group with me—I’ll call them Sergeant Elmo and Sergeant Rice. More on them later; much like my battle buddies, I’m sure they will be recurring figures in this blog.

Mobilization training was a cornucopia of individual and team events. We qualified with our weapons at the firing range, learned how to restrain prisoners, operated a checkpoint and had multiple classes on the critical subjects of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and survival, evasion, resistance and escape (SERE). Convoy operations training, including how to react to various kinds of attacks, consumed a lot of our time as well. I don’t expect to be out on any convoys, nor do I expect many folks from our unit to participate in convoys. However, it is incredibly important to know how to react if you end up in that situation for some reason. The “graduation exercise” for convoy training involved reacting to a simulated attack…with real bullets (known as “live fire”). No, we weren’t shooting at live targets—only pop-up plastic targets. Since a carry a pistol, I didn’t shoot at anything. Instead, I rode in the “vehicle commander” seat and operated the radios.

Nearly all of the training was conducted in our omnipresent body armor, which added a entirely new layer of challenge to the training.

Body armor also followed us to perhaps the most physically challenging event: land navigation. Land navigation was three separate events: day land navigation in a vehicle using a global positioning system (which was a quite fun), day land navigation on foot and night land navigation on foot. Land navigation on foot while wearing body armor is no fun whatsoever, especially in high heat and humidity. However, my land navigation experience was relatively painless thanks to Sergeants Elmo and Rice. Both of them are incredibly talented NCOs who quickly identified the smart way to tackle our land navigation problems. We located all of our assigned points without too much difficulty Both are blessed with a quick and sarcastic wit—which they readily apply to me (in private). During the night land navigation course, I had at least three small tantrums in short succession—including one where I nearly threw a balky compass into a nearby swamp. After I calmed down (somewhat), Sergeant Elmo inquired about my mental health in a manner that was both incredibly funny and remarkably profane. I soon found myself laughing so hard that I could barely remember why I had gotten so angry. It was a welcome relief at the end of a long and demanding day.

Many of our trainers were combat veterans and did their best to share their experiences. They are faced with the difficult task of teaching us doctrine (the textbook approach) while reconciling it with the ever-changing tactics and techniques that are currently being used in combat. At times, they were in a no-win situation but worked hard to provide us with quality training with the tools at hand.