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Rappelling
Sailors and soldiers rappelled down a 90-foot tower at Ammo Island, said Navy Capt. John Delcambre. “It’s important for us as Seabees to practice rappelling, because we often have to get from high to low points quickly. We also pull our own security, and rappelling often comes in useful when setting up safety perimeters.” Before descending, the service members attended a two-hour refresher class that covered the basics of military rappelling including body position, hand signals, and proper hooking procedures, said Army MSgt. Carlos Huff. Air Defense Artillery Sets Up Radar An Army team from Hawaii set up an operations center for NORTHERN EDGE 2003. The soldiers worked with a Sentinel radar system that detects aircraft, cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The information was disseminated to the command group through a secure radio in their Humvee. “The radar tracks both friendly and hostile aircraft,” said Army Spec. Charles Johnson. “In this exercise, we provide the military early warning of aircraft in the Valdez area.” The Sentinel radar picks up radar returns from aircraft and transmits them through various software programs that form the Sentinel’s picture. The picture also shows various terrain features, said Army SFC Rick Langston. Aerial objects are labeled by colors and shapes. A friendly object has a circular green mark; a hostile object is a red “U.”
The initial set-up of the operation center is important, because the soldiers must make sure the equipment is undamaged and their gear operational after shipping. The soldiers then powered up the radar to its operational mode. For soldiers used to working in the tropics, the arctic environment in Alaska was a challenge. “Instead of grounding the system on sand, we must do it on ice and snow,” said SSgt. David Steele. Defending an Air Strip The crew of an Avenger missile system placed among the trees on a snow-covered hill overlooking an airstrip gazed skyward. Before long, an “enemy” airplane approached the airstrip. Since the first to be spotted is likely the first to be killed, the Avenger trained its sights on the plane and targets it before being detected. This was the scenario when elements of an Army Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Regiment defended an airstrip against Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt close air support aircraft. The A-10s flew six sorties over the airstrip, and the battery’s Avenger and Stinger missile teams successfully engaged five of them. In addition to the Humvee-mounted Avengers, the battery also had shoulder-fired Stinger missiles that allow teams to leave their vehicles for better cover, making them harder to detect The opportunity to train with live aircraft is extremely beneficial to the teams, said Army SFC Kevin Bruhn. “They can actually go through their tracking and engagement sequence. Instead of notional aircraft and pretending there’s something out there, there’s actually aircraft for them to engage.” Providing air defense for a static asset such as an airstrip is one of the critical missions of ADA. During the field training exercise, the battery also trained for convoy defense and conducting a Stinger missile ambush. NBC Training U.S. Navy Seabees received nuclear, biological, and chemical training from an Army Chemical Company. The soldiers showed the Seabees the proper procedures troops must follow during decontamination to avoid cross contamination. The soldiers also showed the Seabees how to set up a team for a decontamination line. Chemical company personnel facilitate decontamination to make sure it’s being done properly. Being proactive and setting a team up will increase a unit’s survivability, so they can carry out their mission. “If we are ever contaminated, we would have to decontaminate ourselves,” said Seabee Lt. j.g. John Chesterman. Team members must be well trained and know their job. Leaders need to evaluate their NBC programs and learn the field manuals that address them. That way any shortcomings can be addressed to increase the effectiveness of the programs. |
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