FORT McCOY, Wis. –
The silence of early morning is disrupted by the methodical crunch of combat boots slowly striking the frozen ground. Without warning, the Soldiers are ambushed by small-arms fire and in quick succession begin yelling, “contact right, contact right!”
“It is a good learning experience for me,” said Spc. Antonio Williams, a dental specialist assigned to the 810th Dental Company, 424th Medical Battalion, 338th Medical Brigade, 3rd Medical Command (Deployment Support), from Statesboro, Georgia. “I feel more confident and know now what to work on.”
Soldiers must complete basic lethal warrior tasks and drills while participating in the 2018 Combat Support Training Exercise, CSTX 18-03, at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. One of the combat lanes is reacting to simulated small-arms fire. The combat lanes test their ability to maneuver and stay calm under pressure, while returning fire and taking care of the wounded.
Maj. David Horn, an endodontist assigned to the 810th Dental Company, from Atlanta, Georgia, led the six-Soldier squad through the lanes.
“I learned a lot about scoping the enemy and using what we learned over the past week on how to integrate it all together,” said Horn.
Army Reserve Soldiers conduct this exercise annually to increase combat readiness, capability, lethality and decrease the amount of preparation time to deploy. “We feel better prepared to work together in the dental field and the combat field,” said Horn, “It doesn’t matter what job you have within the Army Reserve, we are all Soldiers first.”