“We need Soldiers to focus on understanding aviation acronyms and aviation terminology, some of the basic missions they are going to see when they get down range.”
— Command Sgt. Maj. Albert Rodriguez
By Sgt. Sidnie Smith
4th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division
FORT CARSON, Colo. —
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Soldiers load an MRZR 4 Razor into the back of a CH-47F Chinook as part of a Helicopter Assault Force during the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division’s, cumulative training exercise, Eagle Strike, March 9, 2020. (Photo by Lt. Col. Jason Woodward)
The training included joint operations with Soldiers from 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Inf. Div.; 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne); and the 13th Air Support Operation Squadron on live and simulated missions in Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site and as far as Wyoming.
Training in the Rocky Mountains provided the service members the chance to experience conditions they could be expected to face in places such as Afghanistan and other deployed environments, said Col. Scott Myer, commander, 4th CAB.
“Mitigating risks starts here,” Myers said. “We (are incredibly) fortunate to train in Colorado. The environment we train in daily, with the front range of the mountains, is similar to what we find in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is the most demanding flight environment I have flown in, and most of our Soldiers have flown in — based on the terrain, the weather, the dust and all those environmental factors. That does increase risk, but we train on that here to make sure they are prepared.”
The Observer Controller Trainers from the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRTC), Hohenfels, Germany, helped the Soldiers identify areas in which they could improve.
As with all training, it comes to remembering the basics, said Command Sgt. Maj. Albert Rodriguez, with Task Force Falcon, JMRTC.
“We need Soldiers to focus on understanding aviation acronyms and aviation terminology, some of the basic missions they are going to see when they get down range,” Rodriguez said.
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Soldiers load an MRZR 4 Razor into the back of a CH-47F Chinook as part of a Helicopter Assault Force during the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division’s, cumulative training exercise, Eagle Strike, March 9, 2020. (Photo by Lt. Col. Jason Woodward)
The Soldiers should have a good understanding of the terms to be able to pass it to their teams, as they continue to train and improve to be a more effective force, he added.
“Some of the positives I see are the people,” Rodriguez said. “There are a lot of good people in (4th CAB). People are willing to learn and take the feedback and make themselves and their units better.”
Lt. Col. Philip Lamb, with Task Force Falcon, JMRTC, agreed with Rodriguez and said the brigade has great people who possess the eagerness to learn.
“At the end of the day, people will win over bad systems and processes,” Lamb said. “I observed, at the brigade and at the battalion levels, people who were very much engaged … and sharing information (so) that risks could be driven down and commanders could make risk decisions that were based upon on good information and good relationships.”