“I think my greatest fear with this force is that the bond that those guys have, the veterans, is nurtured, while not shutting out the new guys,” said Lt. Col. Barry Huggins, who commands one of 3rd Brigade’s three infantry battalions, the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment. “We’ve got to integrate them, make them part of the team.”
Well, the Patriot Battalion has done an exceptional job of integrating newbies like myself and brand new Soldiers out of basic. I said it in the article, and I'll say it here: I have been integrated very well into an experienced, been-there-done-that group of NCOs and officer leadership. I was most nervous around CPT Clemmer at first. I mean the guy's been a PL in Korea, and with the 3rd Ranger BN where, in Afghanistan, he made one of the few combat jumps in Army history! He is an absolutely amazing commander, and I couldn't have been put in a better position to be mentored and trained by him. He doesn't lord it over the PLs or the new Soldiers, but he uses his considerable experience to build us and show us how to "do it smart."
LTC Huggins has made such integration his mission since he took command. He told us from the get-go that we were going right back to Iraq and it was important to get everyone on an even keel as quickly as possible. The training events he has put together for the platoons have been surprisingly realistic, and it can be easy to forget for a moment that it's just an exercise. This particular training event was completely battalion internal. It involved a day of support, a day at Leschi Town being evaluated, and a full day on a range (which was terrific--we got a lot of our own platoon training done that day). My NCOs got to run their guys through some great demolitions, short-range marksmanship, dynamic entry training, and M203 marksmanship. My squad leaders are excellent trainers, and I've learned a lot from them, and I've seen their Soldiers grow very quickly under their supervision. They're tough and demanding, and it pays tremendous dividends; I know I can count on every Soldier due to their diligent training.
Basically, my rant can be summed up by saying we're all ready to go, and even us FNGs can be confident that we can keep up with the vets.
Yep. But it's also true that the old hand showing the rookie the way things are really done is a reality as old as warfare itself. All the prior to in-theater training is really just preparation for what will be learned on the job.