Wild Boar
Wild Boar is the primary annual training exercise of the 63rd Regional Support Command.
The sun-soaked hillsides of Fort Hunter Liggett formed the backdrop for what 319th Signal Battalion members called the most elaborate annual-training exercise in the unit's history. The unit made its way from the Sacramento and San Jose, Calif., areas in early July to install a major communications system supporting 63d Regional Support Command's annual base-cluster exercise. The exercise, held throughout California's Central Valley, also featured an active partnership between reserve- and active-component forces.
Dubbed Wild Boar '97, the two-week training event gave Signal soldiers with the battalion, and those assigned to 86th Signal Battalion, the chance to work together to hone skills each unit needs if they're called on to work together to support a joint task force or major warfighting commander-in-chief. That's because the two units are part of an elaborate system of training affiliations designed to add more Signal muscle to force packages around the world.
In the case of Wild Boar '97, the two units were able to link up forces that stretched along a thousand-mile front extending from Camp Parks, near San Jose, Calif., to Fort Huachuca, located in the high desert southeast of Tucson, Ariz. The network employed by this "Signal task force" connected several units critical to the exercise's success. Those units included 6045th General Support Unit, which serves as 319th's next higher headquarters. This feat was accomplished through a well-placed grouping of communication assemblages that added immeasurably to 319th's trove of knowledge and experience. In a nutshell, the network provided to exercise players afforded them the kind of connectivity that kept them linked together both seamlessly and redundantly.
Operation Wild Boar 98 included members of the Chilean military. Exercise Wild Boar 98, was a two-week field hospital exercise conducted by the 349th General Hospital and 921st Field Hospital at Camp Parks. The 'battle' was fought at Fort Hunter-Liggett, where combat support hospitals were set up and first casualties cared for. The wounded soldiers who were unable to return to battle, were transported by C-130 military airplanes from King City to Hayward Airport, and from there evacuated by helicopter to Parks for long term care. Both units set up field hospitals complete with operating rooms, patient wards and support services.
For two-weeks during the summer of 1998 a major medical exercise called Wild Boar '98, took place between Parks RFTA and Fort Hunter Liggett. The massive training exercise, observed and evaluated by the 2nd Medical Brigade at Parks' RTS-Medical facility, offered approximately 2,500 reservists throughout the United States, and 77 medical and communications units, an opportunity to experience the management of patients and materiel in a battlefield environment.
When thinking about war, one usually conjures up an image of front-line activity - infantrymen, weapons, aircraft and tanks. To the Corps rear of the action, the deployable medical hospitals are situated. Although different tools are used, they, too, are life saving.
The simulated situation, took place between Parks RFTA and Fort Hunter Liggett, occurred on the Hawaiian Islands. A discovery of an expensive mining element had its people forcefully demonstrating for independence as their own rightful nation. The "battle" was fought at Fort Hunter Liggett, where combat support hospitals were set up and first casualties cared for. The wounded soldiers who were unable to return to battle, were transported by C-130 military airplanes from King City to Hayward Airport, and from there evacuated by helicopter to Parks for long-term medical care. Once at Parks, the injured were triaged into established categories and given additional medical treatment, i.e. surgery, physical therapy, etc.
The 349th General Hospital from Los Angeles, set up an 96-bed hospital, and the 921st Field Hospital from Sacramento an auxiliary-type hospital, set up 52 beds. Both hospitals maintained full operations and contained all specialties, including a dental clinic with X-ray capabilities, and veterinary services. The 94th Medical Detachment from Fort Sam Houston, supports Vet Services. Their mission is to take care of the military working dogs used for patrol and search and seizure operations.
Hundreds of patients were treated for moulage battle injuries during the exercise. Patients transported from Fort Hunter Liggett were quickly escorted into the emergency room, where a skilled medical staff assessed their conditions. From the Mortuary Affairs unit to chaplain support, from Mental Health Services to the surgery table, Wild Boar was challenging and realistic for participating units. Talents blended as physicians, nurses, technicians, pilots, drivers, engineers, and ground technicians applied their skills to make it happen.
Signal Battalions from the 422nd, 305th, and the 319th, provided telephone and local area network communications support for the exercise.
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