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Personal Experience Paper 1 Running Head: Pentathletes in Action Unclassified PERSONAL EXPERIENCE PAPER: PENTATHLETES IN ACTION Personal Experience Paper: Pentathletes in Action MSG Bryan A. Tyler Operation Iraqi Freedom, Al Asad, May 16, 2005 – 11 May 2006 13Z5M2S, First Sergeant, Alpha Battery 1-118th Field Artillery, 48th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division 26 August 2006 Class 57 Personal Experience Paper 2 Abstract Pentathletes have been around for over 2700 years, even the great Greek philosophers commented on their strength and speed. The Army Chief of Staff briefed the Army War College class of 2006 and …he envisions leaders as pentathletes. This is a story that will demonstrate these pentathletes in action. Alpha Battery 1-118 Field Artillery Soldiers completed a myriad of missions from traffic control point (TCP), entry control point (ECP), convoy security escort mission, civil affairs operations, and main service route (MSR) security sweeps. Alpha battery completed its traditional field artillery mission providing fire support for 3d Infantry Division. Alpha battery soldiers fired over artillery 800 rounds destroying over 4 mortar/rocket teams. Alpha battery an, Army National Guard unit mobilized for active duty in combat for the first time since WWII; compiled an outstanding combat record with over with 350 days of combat operations. Pre-Deployment Pent athletes have been around for over 2700 years even the great Greek philosophers commented on their strength and speed. The Chief of staff briefed the Army War College class of 2006 and …he envisions leaders as pentathletes the following pages will demonstrate pentathletes in action. December 2004, Alpha Battery 1-118th Field Artillery mobilized for active duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). The 48th Brigade Combat Team and assigned to 3 Infantry Division at Fort Stewart. Our pre-deployment training every soldier had to complete 40 different tasks (now the Army’s warrior task) in order to be deployable. We spent more time in the field than any other unit in the brigade we completed artillery tables I – XV and on the February 22, 2005 were certified for deployment. Alpha Battery then went to work on non-standard artillery missions like: traffic control points, entry control points, clearing buildings, and patrols. Alpha Battery highly motivated and ready to go, in late March we went to National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin. Rotation 05-05 tested us in all of the phases of deployment, overall a good rotation for 48th BCT. Alpha battery set the standard for Artillery calibration at the NTC, as noted by the evaluators. We were the first field artillery battery in three years to correctly conduct the ground burst illumation mission (this is a mission in which a cannon section shoots an illumation round and it burst 3 meters off the ground so that fix wing aircraft can see where to drop its ordnance). 23 April, we returned to Fort Stewart, and then started block leave. Personal Experience Paper 4 Deployment – Kuwait We arrived in Kuwait the night of May 16 2005 it was hot even at 22:00 about 90 degrees. Housed at Camp Buerning for about a week we conducted live fire exercises with our howitzers. Test fired our crew served weapons and everyone fired their assigned weapon at the 25 meter range to confirm all zeros. The best training we had was the 25-meter reflexive fire range. We loaded out our howitzers and made them ready for the move to Camp Taji and Forward Operation Base (FOB) Saint Michael; Alpha battery conducted lanes training on Entry control point and traffic control point operations. We departed Kuwait for Bagdad airport via Air Force C-130. Camp Taji Alpha Battery arrived Camp Taji at night by CH47 Chinook helicopters. Camp Taji was huge over twenty thousand soldiers assigned. We were assign to 4-1 Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1 Armored Division. Alpha battery’s commander, Captain Schneider and I organized the battery into three platoons. 1st platoon had the Hot gun mission at forward operating base Saint Michael Saint, 2nd platoon had the Hot gun mission at Camp Taji, and 3rd platoon had entry control point (ECP) at Gunner gate as it was known. This our first non standard mission would prove vital to our success. Alpha battery assigned to 4-1 field artillery we had to prove to the battalion commander and the S-3 our medal. According to the Chief of Staff a pentathlete must be able complete myriad of different task. Alpha battery was well on the way to becoming pentahletes. Anti Iraqi forces tried to penetrate Gunner gate three different times each time Alpha battery Soldiers thwarted there attempts. Personal Experience Paper 5 We were assigned more difficult missions, a fixed site traffic control point along MSR Tampa at a key bridge in the brigade sector. Later tasked by the battalion with support of the 490th civil affairs team we provided one vehicle and five soldiers for this mission. I went on as many patrols with the civil affairs team as I could to check on my soldiers. In September 2005, Alpha battery got another mission to conduct mounted patrols along MSR Tampa. This was our fifth mission set at the same time. I personally lead this mission everyday for six weeks. It involved three vehicles to sweep along MSR Tampa in battalion sector to look for improvised explosive devices. We also served as a quick reactionary force. Alpha Battery was assigned five different missions at the same time we also had environmental leave to conduct every soldier was tasked out . Forward Operating Base Saint Michael At forward operating base Saint Michael Alpha battery conducted artillery fire support for Task Force 108th Armor, this area known as “triangle of death”. We shot over 800 artillery rounds in six months. The majority of the missions shot were counter fire. The anti Iraqi forces fired rockets or mortars at our base or other bases nearby. Alpha battery fired back as quickly as possible to kill the enemy. The success of this technique we destroyed 4 mortar/ rocket tubes. We devised a plan to conduct night fire with illumation rounds to denial anti Iraqi forces time to set up IEDs. The plan had a positive effect IEDs dropped sixty percent when this method was used. Area denial missions predicted when and where the enemy would fire from based on historical data. I had two real close encounters with incoming mortars at FOB Saint Michael 1 landed seventy meters from where I was standing. Everyone in the FOB stayed in Individual body armor and helmet at all times. The enemy targeted our FOB with mortars and rockets because of our howitzers. Personal Experience Paper 6 In six months, Alpha Battery fired over 800 artillery rounds, 24 counter fire missions, 15 troops in contact missions that protected Task Force Roughrider troops while in close combat with the enemy forces. Alpha battery set the standard for counter fire in 3d Infantry Division. Al Asad Air Base I arrived at Al Asad Air Base three days before the rest of Alpha Battery. I was part of the Battalion advance party, myself and three other Alpha battery Soldiers set up our tent area and prepared to receive the main body. Our new mission was convoy security a total new mission. Our leader recon mission on 6 November 2005 battery leadership started the relief in place (RIP) with a 36 Infantry Division unit from the Texas Army National Guard. On my first mission not more than 5 miles outside the gate a IED went off; it killed all three AIF members and not one Soldier. Our new mission, to escort third country nationals (TCNs) trucks from Al Asad Air Base to Trebil, a border crossing at the Iraqi Jordanian border. We returned to Al Asad with loaded trucks of fuel, supplies, food, and other items for coalition forces. The mission over 350 miles one-way took three days and we would complete 2 missions a week. Alpha battery also had another mission when we were not on mission to Trebil, we ran “Green missions” that involved escorting other coalition forces throughout the Anbar providence. We escorted transportation units that delivered fuel, food, and other needed supplies to places like Rawah, Hit, Al Quaim, and Camp Korea Village (CKV). The green missions were the most dangerous undertaken during our time in country. These missions were shorter in distance but forced us to use smaller roads and go through towns. The town of Rawah was the most dangerous, along route bronze the Task Force struck most of the IEDs in this area. On March 5, 2006 I led a mission to Rawah and while there, we re-enlisted one of my best NCOs. Early that afternoon we departed Rawah bound to Al Asad Air base. Personal Experience Paper 7 As we passed near a Mosque a large boom rang, my vehicle hit an IED. Dazed my driver kept going moving out of the kill zone, as taught. The vehicle stopped my gunner was dazed the back of the vehicle was blown up all three of us had concussions and I had a busted eardrum. In a week my gunner and I were back on the road again. My driver sent back to Fort Stewart for follow up treatment. I will tell you that the next mission outside the wire was the most difficult mentally. To get right back in the fight was the right thing to do. We all were very lucky that day and I count my blessing each day. In six months, our mission of convoys Alpha Battery massed an impressive combat record.