National Guard drilling here today for Middle East tomorrow — VIDEO
The soldiers fired M-16s at men wearing headscarves and robes. The group of would-be terrorists had supposedly planted a roadside bomb along a convoy route, then detonated explosives when the soldiers’ foot patrol approached.
The scene for a training exercise Wednesday on a stretch of desert on the outskirts of the Nevada National Guard’s North Las Vegas Readiness Center was similar to what the soldiers might see in Iraq or Syria or somewhere else in the Middle East.
And though their weapons only shot blank rounds and the bombs were inert, leaders of the 17th Sustainment Brigade said they hope the drill will prepare them for what might lie ahead when they travel overseas to an undisclosed location early next year.
About 200 Army National Guard soldiers from the Las Vegas-based brigade will soon embark on a yearlong deployment to support U.S. military operations in Southwest Asia. It will be the largest deployment by the Nevada Army National Guard since 730 troopers from Nevada’s 221st Wildhorse Squadron endured nine months of combat operation in Afghanistan in 2009-10.
Nevada military officials would not give specifics about dates and places the 17th Sustainment Brigade will go but the brigade’s commander said the deployment has been planned for months, long before the Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris.
“We have had this mission planned out for a while. So we’re part of a regular rotation at this point,” said Lt. Col. Troy Armstrong, 47.
The brigade is capable of providing fuel, food, water, ammunition, supplies and vehicle maintenance for thousands of troops on the ground, enough for “one to three divisions,” he said.
Armstrong said Wednesday’s drill, which involved about 60 soldiers, was a chance for honing individual soldier skills on how to move, shoot, communicate and give first aid to wounded comrades — “the basic skills for taking care of themselves on the battlefield.”
Capt. Paul Adcox, 32, said the brigade will serve as the planning arm for logistical support to provide supplies for troops on the ground in Southwest Asia.
“Part of this training is to help us as a unit develop squad-level tactics (and) training objectives … and to build cohesiveness and to be a team,” Adcox said.
As for their mission, “Without logistics and without sustainment, you cannot maintain a force of any size in a long period of time. So it’s very important that we conduct our job to the best of our ability in order to sustain and maintain the soldiers that are there.”
Capt. Troy Dandrea, 41, a lifelong Las Vegan, will serve as chaplain on the mission.
“My primary job is to help build the resiliency of our soldiers,” he said. “I’m really paying attention to the well-being of our soldiers (and) their families back home so they can be mentally and emotionally prepared to be a force-multiplier over there. And be strong and come back just as strong when we set out.”
While this will be the first deployment for many of the soldiers, it will be Armstrong’s fourth, including two tours of Iraq, where he served with Nevada’s 72nd Military Police Company. About 30 from that unit are currently providing security for military leaders and high-ranking officials for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. They arrived in mid-July to relieve the first wave of Nevada’s MPs.
Armstrong shared his thoughts on the upcoming deployment: “No. 1, it’s an extreme honor. No. 2, it’s a huge responsibility. My primary focus is going to make sure we take care of our soldiers while we support the units underneath us.”
Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2
