Global Response Force exercise sharpens readiness skills

By Drew Brooks
Staff writer

The nation of Atropia is at war, and there are American and Canadian civilians trapped within the country.

In a village, a group of Americans huddles around a small fire. The silence is broken by the sound of incoming helicopters.

The helicopters carry American and Canadian troops who descend on the pitch-black village in an attempt to evacuate those who are trapped.

Atropia is a fictional country, one of several dreamed up for a training scenario on Fort Bragg.

But the mission is a real possibility, something soldiers serving in the nation's Global Response Force could be called on to tackle at any moment.

The 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team is filling the global response role, making it one of the military's first responders, tasked with being prepared for battle or to provide humanitarian aid.

The 82nd Airborne Division historically fills the role.

The soldiers' readiness is being tested during three weeks of training that will draw to a close on Fort Bragg next week.

Lt. Col. Kevin J. Quarles, deputy commanding officer of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, said the training is complex and requires the brigade to integrate with other Army units as well as the Air Force, Marines and foreign troops.

"We know that working as a combined team is important to our overall success," Quarles said. "We're building those relationships."

On Wednesday, more than 10,000 division paratroopers and others from across the nation participated in an exercise that simulated the takeover of an airfield and the evacuation of civilians.

U.S. and Canadian troops jumped into Sicily Drop Zone under the cover of darkness.

The next day, a smaller operation was staged at Freedom Village, a training area on the outskirts of Fort Bragg.

There, U.S. and Canadian troops arrived on Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters and crept toward the walled village, where the soldiers were attacked.

Between bursts of gunfire, the soldiers negotiated the village in search of enemy combatants and friendly civilians needing rescue.

Moving from building to building while peering through night-vision goggles, the soldiers had to quickly distinguish between friend and foe while role-players in the center of the village shouted for help.

"It's almost like a Tom Clancy novel," said Lt. Col. Bob Risdon, the 82nd Airborne Division's deputy operations officer. "It's certainly complex."

Risdon said the training was the result of months of planning.

"It's the closest we can get to something that's real," Risdon said. "And it's pretty close. This is exactly how it would be in a real outload."

"You can pick any country in the Middle East," he said, "and you could see this happening."

"Reality is much stranger than the fiction we produce on the ground," Risdon said.

Maj. Rick Johnson, the 82nd Airborne Division's lead planner, said Wednesday was the main effort of the exercise, with most of the division, several Air Force wings, Marines and hundreds of foreign troops involved in the forcible entry exercise at Sicily Drop Zone.

"It's not just the guys going out and flying tonight," Johnson said Wednesday. "It's getting everybody involved."

Quarles said the training exercise involved one of the largest air drops Fort Bragg had seen in a while.

The hardest part of the training, officials said, was coordinating among the many units involved.

It's unlikely, they said, that American troops would ever be the sole responders in case of such a global crisis.

"We couldn't do this without the Air Force, Canadians, Marines .," Quarles said.

"It really reflects reality," said Johnson. "If there's a real-world event, we're going in as a coalition."

Risdon went even further, saying the involvement of other units is crucial to the success of the Global Response Force.

"We're ready to go anywhere in 18 hours," he said. "But that only happens if the Air Force is there with us."

"Although complex, the return on the investment is great," Risdon said. "The more complex, the better it will be if we get called to do this for real."

The training is the latest opportunity for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team to hone its skills.

The massive exercises take place three times a year, with two of those on Fort Bragg and a third at another location, usually Fort Polk, La., or Fort Irwin, Calif.

Source: http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2013/03/05/1241182?sac=fo.local

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