Posted on 06/07/2006 4:16:43 PM PDT by SandRat
FRIEDBERG, Germany (Army News Service, June 7, 2006) – A group of oddly dressed U.S. Soldiers patrols a village on the lookout for insurgents. Suddenly ambushers open fire from windows, an assumed casualty springs to life firing at the patrol and the Soldiers quickly head for cover.
As members of the 1st Armored Division’s 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, coached the squadron of Army spouses through the combat course on Friedberg’s Ray Barracks, the competitors discussed their options and took action.
It was all part of the 1st Brigade Combat Team’s Combat Spouse Badge Challenge June 3 – an event aimed at helping family members relate better to what their Soldiers are experiencing during deployment to Iraq.
The idea for the Combat Spouse Badge originated with the 1st Infantry Division’s Spouse Spur Run, according to Maj. Tony Perry, 1st Brigade rear detachment commander.
“Brigade commander Col. (Sean) MacFarland wanted to offer the spouses a similar event during the deployment – something to foster the camaraderie among the spouses, and to give them something to gain better appreciation for the training the Soldiers received before they deployed. So we modified the Spur Run to fit our brigade, and every battalion was tasked to develop a training plan,” Perry said.
Approximately 135 spouses took the challenge.
“They reacted pretty well,” said Staff Sgt. War Mobley from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, while overseeing action at the Military Operations in Urbanized Terrain site. Located on Friedberg’s Ray Barracks, the MOUT site replicates an Iraqi village, enabling Soldiers to train while moving under simulated direct fire.
“We gave them a quick overview of how to move and what tactics to use. I was really amazed about how they moved along. They played as a team. I was in awe,” Mobley said.
The challenge began at 8 a.m. with the Army physical fitness test and continued with the MOUT site combat course, the Engagement Skills Trainer – where spouses used a simulator to learn the basics of firing an M16 – and a litter relay where teams had to transport “casualties” off the battlefield.
“It was hard, but also a lot of fun,” said Jessica Anderson, a 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, spouse. “I feel much more connected now to the unit and my husband. Now I trust him more when he says he knows what he is doing.”
Anderson arrived in Friedberg seven months ago, and the event enabled her to meet fellow spouses and make new friends, she said.
Erica Poe from 1-37th Armor came to support her friends during the challenge.
“I am pregnant so I can’t participate. I think the event is great because we get to see a little bit of what our husbands are doing downrange and show some hooah,” Poe said.
“The physical fitness was very strict. I barely made the situps,” said Marina Porsche-Davis from 501st Forward Support Battalion.
“The MOUT site was funny because I didn’t know what to expect. You feel like you are at the mercy of the enemy. I was so focused I didn’t even notice my husband who stood at the side watching me. All I could think was where is the enemy,” she said.
The challenge also gave her a better understanding of the conditions Soldiers experience while serving in a combat zone.
“Wearing the heavy helmet and the shooting gave me a headache. And the M16 rifle is too big,” Porsche-Davis said. “When I imagine that the Soldiers have to do this every day, even in temperatures over 100 degrees, I have a lot of respect for them and what they are doing.”
As spouses made their way through the various stations of the Combat Spouse Badge Challenge, they were accompanied by their children and cheered on by 1st Brigade Soldiers. Several youths joined their moms in the various events and enjoyed a jumping castle and other children’s activities.
By the day’s end all participants left knowing they had given it their all — the proud bearers of the Combat Spouse Badge.
(Editor’s note: Alexandra Williams writes for the U.S. Army Garrison Giessen Public Affairs Office.)
This sounds like a blast - I want to get my wife to enlist.
Photos of the exercise, but not of the badge: http://www.104thasg.hanau.army.mil/sites/local/PhotoGalleryCSB/photogallery.htm
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