Spc. Terrence Powell, motor transport operator, Company H, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, fires a .50-caliber machine gun from a dug-in foxhole Sept. 22, 2016, during a battalion gunnery exercise on Fort Carson. (Photo by Maj. Kevin Boyd)
By Maj. Kevin Boyd
1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division
The radio in the company command post crackled to life, “… we have .50-cal fire from our front at 750 meters and a Stryker moving northwest around the wishbone.”
Pfc. David Brown, left, Stryker systems maintainer, Company H, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, watches for enemy activity as Sgt. 1st Class Michael Ehrhart, first sergeant, Company H, digs in a .50-caliber machine gun tripod during training Sept. 22, 2016. (Photo by Maj. Kevin Boyd)
A Soldier in the command post relayed the information to other elements of the company alerting them to defend the perimeter.
The Soldiers of Forward Support Company H, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, “defended” their company perimeter and supported the remainder of the battalion during gunnery ranges on Fort Carson Sept. 22, 2016.
As the mock enemy moved closer, the Soldiers were both defending their perimeter and working to get ammunition to other units in the battalion.
The cooks hastily cleaned up after breakfast.
“I’m hurrying to secure these pots and food because when we’re attacked I’m going to sprint to the .50-cal machine gun we have dug in so we can fight back,” said Pfc. Celestine Keys, culinary specialist, 2nd Bn., 23rd Inf. Reg. “This stuff needs to be secured because as soon as we fight off the attack we need to move to another location fast. Our security is to stay hidden, and once we’ve been found we need to move before we’re attacked again.”
Pfc. Celestine Keys, culinary specialist, Company H, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, secures food and pots in response to an anticipated attack during a battalion gunnery exercise on Fort Carson Sept. 22, 2016. (Photo by Maj. Kevin Boyd)
The Soldiers first occupied the area with armed transport trucks and then moved the vital fuel and water trucks into a grove of trees to hide. Empty flat-bed trucks were disguised as fuel and water trucks in order to deceive the enemy.
“Soldiers can fight for days without food, and even if the food is shot up it can still be eaten, but without water or fuel they can only fight for hours and won’t be moving far,” said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Ehrhart, first sergeant, Company H, 2nd Bn., 23rd Inf. Reg.
The company was set up in low ground in order to take advantage of the concealment offered by the ridges and trees around them. The Soldiers established observation posts on the ridges and used an RQ-7 Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle to provide early warning.
“We want to use every available asset. Not only is it good training but we are the lifeblood of the battalion, so it is vital that we can defend ourselves,” said Capt. Thomas Blaschke, commander, Company H, 2nd Bn., 23rd Inf. Reg.
Pfc. Delaone Joiner, culinary specialist, provides security while Spc. Bernard Beltran, wheeled vehicle mechanic, loads an M240 machine gun in a hasty fighting position during the gunnery exercise Sept. 22, 2016. (Photo by Maj. Kevin Boyd)