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Stryker companies evaluated in Yakima exercise

by Joe Barrentine and Ann Zetterstrom

FORT LEWIS, Wash. (Army News Service, Dec. 16, 2002) -- The first Stryker Brigade Combat Team units underwent company exercise evaluations this month in the woods of Fort Lewis and Yakima Training Center.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment were evaluated on their ability to deploy and fight as SBCT companies. Observer controllers kept an eye on and documented every stage of the Tomahawks' battles against a "Red Force" manned by the Gimlets from 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment.

Company exercise evaluations are the third gate on the road to the initial operational capability for the brigade, officials said. This series of exercises allows the SBCT company commanders the ability to evaluate their soldiers before they are tested as a team at the Joint Readiness Training Center, at Fort Polk, La., next May.

"Those are Lt. Col. (Kevin) Hyneman's soldiers out there," said Lt. Col. Len McWherter, commander of 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment. "They like to fight, too."

The exercise brought together all the small-unit training into a protracted scenario that tested each unit's skills and proficiency as well as the battalion's command and control systems.

From traffic checkpoints - in and out of towns - to forcefully taking control of a small village, every aspect of the battalion's role in the Stryker Brigade Combat Team concept was challenged.

"The troops love this," McWherter said, about being in the field. "They may not love the weather, but they love the fight."

And fight they did - taking on guerilla forces in different locations. At one point, two of the battalion's companies successfully attacked two villages more than 15 kilometers apart simultaneously, pushing the unit's capabilities like never before.

"It tested our ability to control a non-contiguous fight," said Battalion Operations Sgt. Maj. Ralph Kluna. "Making sure that all the pieces were in the right place took some effort."

While the battalion enjoyed many successes during the week, the ruthless eyes of the observer controllers always see ways to improve.

"Are we perfect - no," Kluna said. "Are we getting better - yes."

And to help the learning process along, after action reviews - normally saved for the end of an exercise - were conducted during pauses in the exercise, giving the battalion's leadership a chance to digest new information as the scenario developed.

Rule one for the AARs was - no thin skin.

"Sometimes holding a mirror up to your face doesn't feel good," McWherter said. "But the lessons learned make us better."

The battalion will continue to build on the lessons learned during the week as they begin looking forward to 3rd Brigade's trip to the Joint Readiness Training Center in May, McWherter said.

"I think they're pretty well trained up," he said, about his individual companies. "The key will be to sustain the soldier's and platoon's proficiencies and to focus on our command and control aspects. We have to make sure we have the units where they need to be to make the most out of their force."

Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment went through the external evaluation cycle this past week. Both battalions are part of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division - the first SBCT.

(Joe Barrentine is a staff writer for the Northwest Guardian newspaper at Fort Lewis. Ann Zetterstrom is with the Transformation Public Affairs Office.)