Cadet Field Training #2: Games of Warfare

Colleges & Universities United States Military Academy - West Point
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<p>July 14, 2006 </p>

<p>games of warfare
Soldiers simulate life on the frontlines
By Greg Bruno
Times Herald-Record
<a href="mailto:gbruno@th-record.com">gbruno@th-record.com</a></p>

<p>West Point - The door-to-door search of the village of Sharm al Shea looked as if it were finished. Most of the insurgents had been round up, shot or chased away.</p>

<p>But tucked in the back room of a two-story cinder block home, a lone gunman waited.</p>

<p>A window swung open. Shots rang out.</p>

<p>“He took one in the chest,” said Pfc. David Huff, a soldier with the 82nd Airborne Division. Dressed like an Iraqi civilian in a flowing white suit, Huff offered his assessment:</p>

<p>“They should have been pulling security a lot more than they were,” he said. “If one of your buddies goes down in a fire fight, you can’t stop dealing with the enemy.”</p>

<p>No cadet blood was actually spilled on the battlefield here yesterday, deep in the woods at the U.S. Military Academy. The village was simulated, the “enemy” from Fort Bragg, N.C.</p>

<p>But while the bullets were blanks, the experience was a matter of life and death.</p>

<p>Warfare today unfolds in Iraqi streets and Afghani homes, places many graduates may one day find themselves. Bombs are hidden in cinder blocks and carcasses. Bad guys blend in.</p>

<p>So while sophomores at West Point must still master old Army skills, like road marches and bayonet battles, times of war have changed.</p>

<p>The Cold War-era of foxholes and fences is over.</p>

<p>“This is a significant departure from what we’ve taught before,” said Capt. Ryan Morgan, operations officer for cadet field training. “The global war on terror is an urban terrorism fight. We had to replicate that fight.”</p>

<p>The first lesson starts on a dusty dirt road off Route 293.</p>

<p>To give cadets an authentic war-torn experience, military planners have transformed a wooded valley on the West Point Reservation into an Iraqi war zone.</p>

<p>Signs warn of camel crossings and roadblocks. Gatorade bottles are labeled in Arabic letters. Villagers - actually soldiers and civilians contracted by the Army - wander the streets in Middle Eastern dress.</p>

<p>A few miles from the simulated village of Sharm al Shea, on a winding Mine Torne Road, cadets navigate ambushes, look for improvised explosive devices and man roadblocks.
<a href=“http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2006/07/14/news-gbcadettraining-07-14.html[/url]”>http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2006/07/14/news-gbcadettraining-07-14.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>During a convoy exercise yesterday, two armored gun trucks led a trio of troop carriers toward base. They never made it.</p>

<p>As one cadet was moving debris from the roadway, a volley of gunfire rained from woods. Cadets cracked M-16s, and a .50-caliber machine gunner laid cover fire.</p>

<p>When the smoke cleared, two cadets had been shot, sprawled on the gravel on cue. Shell casings littered the roadway. Only one insurgent had been captured.</p>

<p>“It was a little slow,” Morgan acknowledged as the ambush exercise wound down and cadets returned to their trucks. “But hopefully at the end they’ll talk about it, and apply those lessons learned.”</p>

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<p>momoftwins:</p>

<p>Thanks for sharing the article on the CFT exercises for the second year cadets. I recently spoke with our yearling son and he confirmed that the urban assualt and convoy assualt were both instructive and eye-opening.</p>

<p>He really enjoyed the opportunity to talk with some of the 82nd airborne soldiers and get the “real story” on Iraq. The message conveyed to the cadets was to take your training seriously since the reality of seeing a buddy die (especially if it’s because of your mistake) was something you don’t want to experience.</p>

<p>My son said the CFT manuevers were “hardcore” and that no cadets were dozing off during the field exercises.</p>

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<p>Aspen, How’d he like firing that 50 cal??
:)</p>

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<p>Shogun, I think the expression he used was “sweet”. </p>

<p>He especially liked the night firing with tracers. His only complaint so far is that they only let a couple cadets in each group fire real grenades with their 203 launchers. Most be some cost control measure.</p>

<p>He’s hoping to fire some live rounds at Ft. Knox this weekend. He seems to have an affinity for anything that explodes.</p>

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<p>I haven’t heard anything yet. I can’t wait to hear about that “sweet” 50 cal.</p>

<p>aspen, will you be able to visit at Ft. Knox?</p>

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<p>Momoftwins:</p>

<p>No. Originally we planned to visit him at Ft. Knox. We asked if he wanted visitors and he said, “not really”. Also, with the new schedule that gives him leave during the first week of August, we will see him in two weeks anyway. </p>

<p>Take heart plebe parents! That’s quite a change from last year when we would have driven to Ft. Knox just to see his bus pass by.</p>

<p>I predict that if your daughter liked the pummel sticks, she will love the power of a 50 caliber machinegun - especially if it’s mounted on a tank.</p>