I GUESS THE BIGGEST LESSON I LEARNED IS NOTHING CHANGES FROM HOW YOU TRAIN AT JRTC. WE ALL TRY TO INVENT NEW DILEMAS AND TTP'S BECAUSE IT'S A REAL DEPLOYMENT BUT WE END UP OUT SMARTING OURSELVES. GO WITH WHAT YOU KNOW, STICK WITH HOW YOU TRAIN.
SOME OF THE THINGS IN PARTICULAR WERE SOLDIERS LOAD, BECAUSE YOU'RE IN THE MNTS OF AFGHANISTAN YOU TRY TO INVENT NEW PACKING LISTS, OR NEW UNIFORMS. SOME UNITS WENT IN WITH GORTEX AND POLY PRO ONLY, WHEN THE WX GOT BAD THEY WERE THE ONLY ONES TO HAVE COLD WX INJ THAT NEEDED TO BE EVACED. WEVE ALL FIGURED OUT HOW TO STAY WARM DURING THE WINTER SO DONT CHANGE YOUR UNIFORMS. IT WAS NEVER AS COLD AS I VE SEEN IT HERE OR FT BRAGG DURING THE WINTER.
BECAUSE OF THE HIGH ALTITUDE'S AND ROUGH TERRAIN WE ALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN COMBAT LIGHT. THATS THE FIRST THING YOU LEARN AT JRTC, YOU CANT FIGHT WITH A RUCK ON YOUR BACK. WE PACKED TO STAY WARM AT NIGHT, WHICH WAS A MISTAKE; YOU TAKE ONLY ENOUGH TO SURVIVE UNTIL THE SUN COMES UP. WE HAD EXTREME DIFFICULTY MOVING WITH ALL OUR WEIGHT. IF OUR MOVEMENT WOULD HAVE BEEN TO RELIEVE A UNIT IN CONTACT OR A TIME SENSITIVE MISSION WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MOVE IN A TIMELY MANNER. IT TOOK US 8 HOURS TO MOVE 5 CLICKS.
WITH JUST THE VEST AND LBV WE WERE EASILY CARRYING 80LBS. THROW ON THE RUCK AND YOUR SUCKING.
WE OUT SMARTED OUR SELVES ON HOW MUCH WATER TO CARRY. WE TOOK IN OVER 12 QRTS PER MAN ON OUR INTITIAL INSERTION, WHICH GREATLY INCREASED OUR WEIGHT. IN THE OLD DAYS YOU DID A THREE-DAY MISSION WITH 6 QRTS OF WATER, AND THAT WAS ON FT CAMPBELL IN THE SUMMER. GRANTED WE WERE ALL HEAT EXHAUSTION AT THE END BUT IT'S MORE THAN DOOABLE. I SAY GO IN WITH SIX QRTS, IF YOUR RESUPPLY IS WORKING THAN DRINK AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE KEEPING THE SIX QRTS INCASE RESUPPLY GETS WX RD OUT. WE ALSO OVER TASKED OUR HELICOPTER SUPPORT BRINGING IN UNEEDED RESUPPLY BECAUSE WEVE LOST A LOT OF OUR NEEDED FIELD CRAFT.
WE DIDNT EVEN THINK TO TAKE IODINE TABLETS UNTIL AFTER WE GOT ON THE GROUND.
IF YOU'RE IN A GOOD FIGHT YOUR GOING TO NEED ALL YOUR BIRDS FOR MEDEVAC AND AMMO RESUPPLY. BOTTOM LINE IS WE HAVE TO TRAIN AT THE RIGHT SOLDIERS LOAD, RELEARN HOW TO CONSERVE WATER. HOW MANY BATTERIES DOES IT TAKE TO SUSTAIN FOR THREE DAYS ETC. TAKE WHAT YOU NEED TO SURVIVE THROUGH THE NIGHT AND THEN WEAR THE SAME STUFF AGAIN THE NEXT DAY, YOU CAN ONLY WEAR SO MUCH SNIVEL GEAR IT DOESNT DO ANY GOOD TO CARRY ENOUGH TO HAVE A DIFFERENT WARD ROBE EVERY DAY. HAVE THE BN INVEST IN GORTEX SOCKS, AND SMART WOOL SOCKS OUR BN DIRECTED FOR EVERY ONE TO WEAR GORTEX BOOTS DURING THE MISSION, YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW PAINFUL THAT WAS. I GAVE UP MY BOOTS TO A NEW SOLDIER WHO DIDNT HAVE ANY SO I WORE JUNGLE BOOTS, GORTEX SOCKS AND A PAIR OF SMART WOOL SOCKS AND MY FEET NEVER GOT WET OR COLD EVEN IN THE SNOW.
YOU NEED TWO PAIRS SO YOU CAN DRY THEM OUT EVERY DAY.
ALL PERSONEL INVOLVED HATED THE LBV ITS SO CONSTRICTING WHEN YOU WEAR IT WITH THE VEST, THEN WHEN YOU PUT A RUCK ON IT CUTS OFF EVEN MORE CIRCULATION. I WOULD ALSO RECOMMEND WEARING THE BODY ARMOR DURING ALL TRAINING, I DOUBT IF WELL EVER FIGHT WITHOUT IT AGAIN. IT SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTS EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO.
EQUIPMENT WISE, OUR GREATEST SHORTCOMINGS WERE OPTICS AND ORGANIC OR DIRECT SUPPORT LONG RANGE WEAPONS. AFTER THE INITIAL FIGHT ALL OUR TARGETS WERE AT A MINIMUM OF 15OOM ALL THE WAY OUT TO AS FAR AS YOU COULD SEE. OUR 60 AND 81'S ACCOUNTED FOR MOST OF THE KILLS. NEXT WAS A CANADIAN SNIPER TM WITH A MCMILLIAN 50 CAL. THEY GOT KILLS ALL THE WAY OUT TO 2500M. THE PROBLEM WITH OUR MORTARS WAS THERE WAS A 24 HR CAS CAP. AND THEY WOULDNT FLY NEAR US IF WE WERE FIRING INDIRECT. EVEN THOUGH OUR MAX ORD WAS FAR BENEATH THERE PATTERNS. SOMETHING FOR YOU AND YOU ALO TO WORK OUT. THE OTHER PROBLEM WAS THE AIR FORCE COULD NEVER HIT SMALL GROUPS OF PERSONNEL. I WATCHED AND CALLED CORRECTIONS ON NUMEROUS SORTIES AND THEY COULD NEVER HIT THE TARGETS. MY VERDICT IS IF YOU WANT IT KILLED USE YOU MORTARS. PAY CLOSE ATTN TO THE DIR OF ATK YOUR ALO IS BRINGING IN THE CAS. EVERYTIME IT WAS PERPINDICULAR TO US WE WERE HIT WITH SHRAPNEL. NOT TO MENTION THE TIME THEY DROPPED A 2000LB IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR COMPANY, IT DIDNT GO OFF BY A SHEER MIRACLE IM SURE. COBRAS AND 2.75 SHOT AT US ALSO, ONCE AGAIN THEY WERE SHOOTING PERPINDICULAR TO OUR TRACE. AVIATION PROVIDED THE MOST NEAR MISSES OF ALL THE THINGS WE DID.
I RECOMEND ALL SL'S AND PL'S CARRY BINOS WITH THE MILLS RETICLE. COUNTLESS TIMES TL'S AND SL'S HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO CALL IN MORTARS. MORE IMPORTANTLY IS LEADERS KNOWING HOW TO DO IT. OUR BN HAS CHECKED ALL THE BLOCKS AS FAR AS THAT GOES, GUESS WHAT THEY STILL COULDNT DO IT. ESPICIALY THE PL'S CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF ITS NOT THE PL WHOS GOING TO CALL IT IN ITS THE SOLDIER IN THE POSISTION WHO WILL. IF YOU DONT HAVE THE BINOS GUESS WHAT YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR SOMEBODY TO RUN TO THE M240 POSISTION TO GO GET THEM. ALSO SAME GOES WITH NOT KNOWING HOW TO DO IT, YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE FO TO MOVE TO THAT POSITION. PLUGGER BATTLE DRILL IS THE WAY TO GO, EVEN WITH THE CIVILIAN MODELS; THE CONTOUR INTERVAL ON THE MAPS IS OUTRAGEOUS SO TERRAIN ASSOCIATION WAS DIFFICULT. RANGE ESTIMATION WAS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT OR CRITICAL THING YOU DO. IF YOU CLOSE ON YOUR ESTIMATION YOU'LL GET THE TARGET. WE ALL CARRIED IN 2 MTR ROUNDS APIECE AND THAT WAS MORE THEN ENOUGH. WE TOOK MIX OF EVERYTHING; THE ONLY THING WE USED WAS WP AND HE. ALL TOGETHER WE TOOK IN AT LEAST 120 RDS AS A COMPANY
LOTS OF LESSONS LEARNED ON AIR ASSLT. ITS WAS ALWAYS SEATS OUT DUE TO THE LIMITED # OF AC AND THE # OF PERSONNEL WE HAD TO GET IN. THAT PRESENTS A FEW PROBLEMS. OFFLOADING A CH-47 ON A HOT LZ PACKED TO THE GILLS IS AN EXTREMELY SLOW PROCESS (2-3 MIN). LANDING WAS THE MOST DANGEROUS PART WHILE WE WERE THERE JUST BECAUSE OF THE CONDITIONS AND TERRAIN, IF YOU CRASH WITHOUT SEATS AND SEATBELTS YOUR GOING TO HAVE ALOT OF BROKEN BONES. IF POSSIBLE MAYBE YOU COULD SEND IN THE FIRST FEW LIFTS WITH SEATS IN, THAT WILL GET THE HELO OFF THE LZ MUCH QUICKER. THEN FOLLOWING AC SEATS OUT. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
JUST LIKE THE VIETNAM THE PILOTS WERE COURAGEOUS AND WILL DO ALL AND EVEN MORE OF WHAT YOU ASK OF THEM. HOWEVER RESUPPLY WAS A BIG DIFFICULTY. PROBLEM WAS THEY NEVER PUT THE RIGHT PACKAGE AT THE RIGHT PLACE AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, ESPICIALLY WHEN IT S 120MM MORTAR RDS THAT SLID INTO A DEEP RAVINE. FIX WAS PUT A LNO ON THE BIRD WITH GRIDS FREQ'S AND CALL SIGNS. OUR S-4 HAD A GROUP OF SUPPLY SGT'S THAT WOULD ACCOMPANY THE RESUPPLY'S. ALSO AS THE S-3 PUSH THE BIRDS DOWN TO THE COMPANY FREQS. THAT KILLED US THE WHOLE TIME. BN WOULD NEVER PUSH THE BIRDS DOWN TO US SO THEY WERE ALWAYS LANDING IN THE WRONG PLACE OR DROPPING OFF RESUPPLY IN THE WRONG PLACE. SAME WITH AH-64'S WE ALWAYS SAY GIVE THEM TO THE USER BUT WE NEVER DO IT. WE ALWAYS HAD TO RELAY THRU THE S-3 TO GIVE CORRECTIONS.
FLYING WAS BY FAR THE MOST DANGEROUS THING WE DID WHILE WE WERE THERE.
THE ENVIROMENT WAS EXTREMELY HARSH. THE COLD WASNT THAT BAD, ITS THE HARD COLD DRY WIND THAT WILL EAT YOU UP LIKE YOU WOULDNT BELIEVE. CHAPSTICK, CHAPSTICK, CHAPSTICK, SUN SCREEN, SUN SCREEN. SUN SCREEN.
GATORS, DIDNT HOLD UP TO GOOD, THAT PLACE EATS UP TIRES LIKE YOU WOULDNT BELEIVE. THEY'RE A GREAT THING TO HAVE WHEN THEIR RUNNING. ALSO THERE REAL EASY GETTING THEM INTO TO THE FIGHT, GETTING OUT IS A DIFFERENT STORY, YOUR ALWAYS SCROUNGING FOR AC WHEN IT S TIME TO GO
