Spartan paratroopers hone urban fighting skills

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jack Sanders
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Soldiers stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson with the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, completed a series of training scenarios this summer at Donnelly Training Area.

The Soldiers performed many different tasks including live-fire exercises and airborne insertions, but one of the many exercises which stood out was urban operations training.
DTA hosts unique opportunities for urban operations training. Because of its location in Alaska, it allows for troops to be louder and perform training activities they couldn't perform so close to Anchorage.

To aid in urban operations training, the Army built an urban area designed to mimic most Afghan villages. The large compound is complete with a local bank, prison, market place and several housing areas.

During an exercise, June 7, a platoon of paratroopers drove a convoy through the "village" with the mission to apprehend a known "terrorist." However, before the platoon could apprehend the individual, they had to convince the local police chief to cooperate in the capture.

To help make the scenarios more realistic, the Soldiers relied upon the aid of actors to simulate a multitude of roles ranging from terrorist insurgents to local police and even curious townspeople. Most of the actors are former Afghan nationals who've since become U.S. citizens, or prior military members who've deployed before.

Each platoon ran the scenario differently and devised a correct course of action depending on the direction of their platoon leader.

Convincing a police chief who speaks Dari, the more common Afghan language, was challenging for the platoon leader and translators in of itself, and the actors made strong efforts to ensure the situation was as realistic as possible.

While the platoon leader requested help from the local police chief, other Soldiers had the responsibility of securing a section of street with their Humvees.

After the platoon leader and translator convinced the local police chief to aid in their efforts, the platoon divided into two sections. One section of the platoon crept through a wooded area to sneak up on their target, while the other members of the platoon drove around to provide support in the humvees.

During the scenario, some platoon members were "wounded" and combat medics were required to provide them with potentially life-saving techniques.

The training covered an all-around basis of skills the troops will need when facing similar situations in a combat environment.