Story by Spc. Jeff Daniel
November 23, 2009
FORT Pickett, Va. – The Riverdale, Maryland-based 450th Civil Affairs Battalion traveled to Fort Pickett, Va. to participate in a four-day training exercise focusing on jump readiness and weapons qualifications Nov. 19 – 22.
The exercise--which culminated with a series of airborne jumps from a C-130 Hercules--was designed to simulate what 450th Company Commander Capt. Lance Jensen called the last tactical mile of a civil affairs mission.
“When providing humanitarian aid, we have the capability of para-dropping relief supplies in along with troops to protect those supplies. This training exercise simulates dropping supplies and troops by air, the road march to the town in need of the aid, and the civilian help needed for that town,” Jenson said.
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| Members of the 450th Civil Affairs Battalion board a C-130 in preparation for a night jump at Blackstone Army Airfield, Fort Pickett, Va., on Nov. 21, 2009. (Photo by Spc. Jeff Daniel) |
The exercise kicked off the afternoon of Nov. 19 with various briefings, including a basic airborne refresher course for Soldiers just out of airborne school and those who had not jumped in the past three months. Another briefing for noncommissioned officers and officers covered weapons-range safety procedures related to the weapons qualification portion of the exercise.
The next day brought a light rain and low clouds to south central Virginia that delayed a planned airborne jump for several hours. Shortly before noon, Soldiers were finishing a lunch of Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) when unit officials decided to proceed with the jump.
The jumpers donned their parachutes and boarded a Hercules C-130, which was soon flying at 1,000 feet above Pickett’s Blackstone Army Airfield. A total of 70 Soldiers made the jump by the time the C-130 completed its tenth and final pass over the airfield shortly before dusk.
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| Command Sgt. Maj. R. Todd Priest introduces Pfc. Michael Z. Armstrong, far left, to Brig. Gen. James Owens as Lt. Col. John P. Lawlor Jr., far right, looks on. (Photo by Spc. Jeff Daniel) |
After the jumpers regrouped in front of the airfield’s hanger, the unit held a ceremony to mark a tradition that commemorates the first airborne jump of the youngest Soldier in the unit. During the ceremony, 450th Commander Lt. Col. John P. Lawlor Jr. recognized Pfc. Michael Armstrong, 21, of Washington, as the unit’s first “Keeper of the Wings.”
Armstrong joined the unit in May 2009 after completing basic combat training at Fort Jackson and advanced individual training at Fort Lee. Prior to the jump, Armstrong said he was a little nervous. After the jump, Armstrong said it was one of his best landings. “I listened to Jumpmaster Dutch on exactly what to do,” said Armstrong.
Because of the weather-delayed jump, the road march and accompanying Military Operations and Urban Terrain training was canceled.
The next day, Fort Pickett’s weapons ranges crackled with gunfire as the unit members worked to qualify on their 9 millimeter pistols and M16 rifles. After the safety briefing,
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| Captain Marci T. Hodge gets helps to prepare for a training jump (Photo by Spc. Jeff Daniel) |
Soldiers lined up on 15 lanes of fire as Brig. Gen. James Owens, Commander of the 352nd Civil Affairs Command, looked on. After everyone who was assigned a 9mm had qualified, there were a few rounds left for those to try out the 9mm for the first time.
One of the first timers was Pfc. Stephen Peck, from Baltimore, Md., who joined the unit in February 2009. Prior to firing 12 live rounds, he was given a one-on-one coaching session on how to handle and fire the 9mm by Maj. William T. Birch, the 450th planning officer. Birch said that if Peck was completing an actual qualification, “he would have qualified as expert, having only missed 1 target.” A former federal agent firearms training officer, he said: “I like providing leadership to the young Soldiers.”
The exercise also prepared the unit for Operation Southbound Trooper, a training exercise planned for February 2010 with a Civil-Military Cooperation Unit of the Canadian Army.
