FORT BLISS BUGLE June 25, A

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2 FORT BLISS BUGLE June 25, A

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4 FORT BLISS BUGLE June 25, A Photos by Staff Sgt. Killo Gibson / 3rd BCT, 1st AD Public Affairs Ernest Mpouho Epigat, Gabon s secretary of defense, visits the Central Accord 2015 site May 20 at Libreville, Gabon. The exercise focuses on multi-national forces working together in operational, logistical and medical support of peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. Bulldogs have busy year with more to come By Capt. Danielle Covington 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division Public Affairs The Bulldog Brigade is having a busy year and the ride is not over. The journey started summer 2014 when Col. Chip Daniels took over as commander of the Highlanders Brigade, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. The unit traveled to the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California. Upon the BCT returning from NTC, they embarked on the regionally aligned forces missions. The main mission was the accord series the brigade would see through to the end of September. Elements of the brigade were back and forth to and from Africa heading up several planning conferences for each series. There are four planned accord missions: Eastern Accord 15, Uganda; Central Accord 15, Gabon; Western Accord 15, Netherlands; Southern Accord 15, Zambia. Mainly focused on command post exercises in peacekeeping, the accord missions are structured into three categories: training audience, exercise control and exercise support. Daniels is the exercise director, orchestrating the flow of the overall mission. The training audience are selected Soldiers who partner with the African partners to train and guide them through the scenarios. The exercise support group are the real world personnel i.e. medical, logistics and communication. We look to facilitate and train the staff. What we are looking for is how does a multinational staff operate and deploy in an austere environment in support of peacekeeping, humanitarian and system of disaster response scenarios, said Brig. Gen. Peter Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, commander, U.S. Army Africa, speaks with Brig. Gen. Peter Corey, co-director, and head of delegation for U.S. military troops, prior to the awards ceremony for Central Accord 2015 at Libreville, Gabon, May 20. Williams handed out coins to outstanding performers to show his appreciation. L. Corey, deputy commander, U.S. Army Africa. The Bulldog Brigade has completed two accord missions EA 15 in Uganda and CA 15 in Gabon. The unit is near the halfway point of completing the RAF mission. Other Bulldog missions include 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment s deployment to Djibouti, Horn of Africa, in support of the East African Contingency Force; 4th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment s operation in Almeria, Spain a combined training exercise with the 3rd Spanish Legion; and, 2nd Battalion, 29th Calvary Regiment s support of joint peacekeeping training with Ethiopian defense forces. We have 900 Soldiers currently on the continent of Africa, spread across 10 to 14 countries on any given day, said Daniels, now the commander of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. The Bulldog Brigade has completed 40 missions and has 11 ongoing missions outside the contiguous United States. Meanwhile, back in garrison, Bulldogs are manning access control points with 134 Soldiers on the gates. The unit also has more than 200 Soldiers trained and ready for ACP duty. There are also units training up for gunnery and the unit has started receiving cadets in support of Cadet Troop Leader training. From a goodwill standpoint, Bulldogs volunteer in the surrounding El Paso community. Bulldogs have been in a go, go, go mentality with the light at the end of the tunnel beginning to glow brighter. The unusual deployments have increased the morale and motivated the units Soldiers. Many Bulldog Soldiers saw African countries that are not normally accessible. Although a third of the Bulldog Soldiers were out on mission away from post, the unit reflagged from 4th Brigade Combat Team to 3rd Brigade Combat Team. The 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion and 2nd Engineer Company, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, cased their colors. The 3rd BCT, 1st AD, activated 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Battalion and 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment. We come in, mentor and learn from these experiences, Corey said. That is what Bulldogs have done, as the age old saying goes Veni, vidi, vici!

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6 By Capt. John A. Brimley Mobilization Training Center, First Army Division West Public Affairs After seven months of planning and training, a First Army Division West field artillery unit completed its final phase of transformation to a training support battalion. It s been a remarkable seven months, said Lt. Col. Cobb Laslie, commander, 2nd Battalion, 362nd Field Artillery Regiment, 402nd Field Artillery Brigade, First Army Division West, as he reflected back to when he received the mission in July The transformation was conducted in two phases. Phase one included the support of the Division Artillery, 1st Armored Division, during Exercise Iron Strike, and Phase two with the Mission Readiness Exercise for New Hampshire National Guard s 3rd Battalion, 197th Field Artillery Regiment. We have a lot of experience in the battalion, but we had never done this before, Laslie said. We didn t know what we didn t know. The 2nd Bn., 362nd FA Regt., carried this training mission from the initial joint assessment more than a year ago. While they prepared and coordinated for the training plan for the 3rd Bn., 197th FA Regt., they also were in the midst of their own transformation. They were venturing into unknown territory. The unit previously operated as a plans, exercise movement control battalion, which served as the initial contact for training units going to Fort Bliss for post mobilization, and also functioned as the battalion that provided long-range planning for those units. However, this time they were the executors of the long-range training plan they once planned for other units to execute. Not only was this a great opportunity for us to run ourselves through the exercise, but also helping the brigade establish some start points for additional standards to be developed, Laslie said. This operation was different from the traditional way the 402nd FA Bde. and 5th Armored Brigade typically prepare and train units. The 2nd Bn., 362nd FA Regt., led the way for how the 5th AR Bde. plans to operate in the future. We knew that in order to give this HI- MARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) battalion from New Hampshire a true workout, we weren t going to be able go on the cheap, Laslie said. There were not many stones Laslie and his team left unturned in preparation for their first CTE as observer coach/trainers. He sought resources everywhere to complement the robust training plan the unit built in anticipation of the 3rd Bn., 197th FA Regt. s, arrival. The only thing we let ourselves be limited by was our ability to coordinate and plan, he said. Laslie wanted a realistic training plan and MRX, so he contacted the Air National Guard and Battery D, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, El Paso, a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Marine Corps battery that provided a partnership with the NG unit similar to the relationship they will cultivate during their deployment. The Marines were able to replicate future engagement techniques, tactics and practices with their host nation partnership military force, said Capt. DeCarlos Ware, observer coach/trainer, 2nd Bn., 362nd FA Regt. The Air Guard provided air transportation via C-17 aircraft for the 3rd Bn., 197th FA Regt., during their MRX, which also gave them an opportunity to forge relationships across services. The C-17 training with the Air Force gave the Soldiers and command teams confidence and assurance that they could load, unload and deliver long range munitions during decisive operations, Ware said. All of our external support in terms of the other services was great, Laslie said. The transition and transformation turned out to be an exercise of the Army Total Force FORT BLISS BUGLE June 25, A TF Redleg completes transition to training support battalion Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Rawls, operations NCOIC, 2nd Bn., 362nd FA Regt., 402nd FA Bde., First Army Division West, gives a hot wash to the N.H. National Guard s 3rd Bn., 197th FA Regt., for their final partnership event with Battery D, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, USMC, during a recent mission readiness exercise at McGregor Range, N.M. The only thing we let ourselves be limited by was our ability to coordinate and plan. >> Lt. Col. Cobb Laslie Photos by Capt. John Brimley / Mobilization Training Center Bliss, First Army Division West Public Affairs Soldiers from New Hampshire National Guard s 3rd Battalion, 197th Field Artillery Regiment, rehearse load preparation of their High Mobility Artillery Rocket System during the mission readiness exercise at Biggs Army Air Field, Texas. Policy, which integrates the Army s active and Reserve components and represents the realization of the Total Force Concept. This was truly a total force exercise, Laslie said. We used the Army Reserve Soldiers from our other task forces. Obviously, we re an active duty battalion and we trained a National Guard battalion. In the big picture, the 2nd Bn., 362nd FA Regt. s, transformation is a part of Operation Bold Shift, which restructures First Army assets to better provide pre-and post-mobilization to meet Reserve component and National Guard unit readiness. There are a lot of other task forces who have been doing this a lot longer than us, but we have the opportunity to come in and do things with a fresh perspective with a lot of latitude to establish things for what I think is Col. (Jay) Gallivan s vision, Laslie said. The 402nd FA Bde. and 5th Armored Bde. merged June 10 as part of Operation Bold Shift.

7 16A June 25, 2015 FORT BLISS BUGLE