Bradley Infantry Training
Story & photos by SPC Charles Ames
Training was conducted by Company A,
1st Battalion,
205th Regiment (Leadership), formerly known as the
Washington Military Academy. The course began on January 24th and
graduation was held on February 7th. All thirty-one soldiers were
graduated and reunited with their families following ceremonies presided over by Brigadier
General Lee Legowik, the Assistant Adjutant General, Army. The guest speaker was
State Command Sergeant Major Marvin Jack.
To qualify for
the course each student must have first graduated from Army Basic Combat Training and be a
qualified 11B Infantryman. The 11M course builds on normal Infantry skills teaching
the basics of operating and maintaining the Army’s famous
Bradley. All skills necessary to serve as a member of a cohesive Bradley
Infantry unit are taught.
The students
receive training on a wide range of subjects: everything from disassembly and maintenance
of the vehicles weapons systems to the operation of the vehicles chemical protection
equipment; from preventative maintenance of the engine to operation and troubleshooting of
the vehicles communications systems.
Students must
demonstrate their ability to drive the BFV by successfully negotiating both day and a night
driving courses in rough terrain. They must learn to perform self-recovery of
the Bradley, and each student must become proficient at the infamous and backbreaking task
of "breaking track" (the process of repairing the massive track in the event it
is damaged or broken).
"All graduates from this course are trained to Army
standards and have the skills necessary to succeed as a Bradley Infantry soldier anywhere
in the Army", said Sergeant First Class William Buckner, the Course Manager.
Each soldier graduated returns
to his unit fully trained and ready to take his place as a member of his own Bradley crew.
The pace is
fast and training can run well into the evening. As the course nears it’s
completion, the students – now working together as a Bradley crew – are
evaluated in a 48-hour field training exercise.
Alpha Company teaches the 11M course twice each year. It is one of six DA recognized
MOS-producing qualification courses the unit conducts at Camp Murray: 13B – Cannon
Crewmember, 13E – Field Artillery Fire Direction Specialist, 13F – Fire Support
Specialist, 19K – Tank Crewman, 19D – Scout, and of course, 11M.
The
Instructors are themselves a breed apart. Each Instructor has already served the
Washington National Guard as a non-commissioned officer in the MOS they teach. All
are graduates of the Battle Focused Instructor Training Course (BF/ITC), and the Tactical
Certification Course (TCC). Many are also graduates of the Small Group Instructor
Course (SGI) and are qualified as Combat Lifesavers (CLS). Each is then certified by
an active Army Instructor Certifier, who visits from the Infantry School at Fort Benning
specifically for that purpose. This process reflects approximately 6 weeks of
training beyond normal MOS and NCOES qualifications. The Artillery and Armor
Instructors undergo a similar process. The result is a cadre of Instructors that is
unsurpassed by any organization in the Army National Guard. Despite the high level
of realism, the adverse weather conditions and the nature of the equipment with which
these Guardsmen train, there has not been a single serious injury in the entire history of
any of the courses taught by Alpha Company. Although many of the recent graduates
did receive the traditional "Bradley bites" - countless small nicks and
abrasions - associated with the operation of the Bradley.
Alpha Company regularly provides Instructors to other states within TASS Region G who
serve as Instructors for MOS programs and NCOES. Currently they have instructors as
far away as Guam! Washington Army National Guardsmen who hold the appropriate MOS
and are interested in becoming Instructor qualified and assisting the cadre as
"Guest" Instructors should contact SFC Rudy Carroll at (253) 512-8050.
