Delta-2-1 Refits-to-Fight
[Bradley Fighting Vehicle] [Bradley Training] [AT '99 & The "Yakima Warrior"]
Story & photos by SPC Charles Ames - Posted Jul, 1999
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Each year the Guard conducts its Annual Training. It is a two-week exercise at the Yakima Training Center, and involves soldiers from throughout the state. Guardsmen polish their soldiering skills, developing their ability to "move, shoot and communicate". But once the training is over and all of the ranges close down and it's time to "head for the showers" some of the hardest work starts.
Follow a typical Bradley crew as they perform the much practiced task known as "refitting to fight" - the care and cleaning that prepares their beast for the stable. It's not a glamorous story, but it's one that is all too familiar to Washington's Bradley Infantry.
The Refit
As it happens the crew of Delta-2-1 (the first of four Brads - the Platoon Leaders track - in 2nd Platoon, of Company D, 1-161st Infantry) was a brand new crew. The Bradley Commander had never "BC’d" before, the Gunner had never fired live rounds "downrange" and the Driver had never driven before - apart from his initial training, of course! But by the end of Annual Training they knew all about each other, and all about their vehicle. They had become a crew.
Read about Delta-2-1's Qualification on the Bradley Gunnery Range
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As "Delta" Company left the training area this year and headed for main post YTC it was Delta-2-1 that led the way. At that point the long process of preparing their Brads for transfer back to the custody of the MATES (Mobilization and Training Equipment Site) began. It's a process known as the "refit-to-fight" and it's well known to mechanized infantrymen around the world.
The crew must complete refueling, washing, thorough maintenance, inspection and turn-in of their Bradley Fighting Vehicle in just under two days. Weapons, both individual and crew-served, must be meticulously cleaned. Any deficiencies that the crew can fix themselves must be attended to. Faults above crew level maintenance must be documented and submitted to the full-time mechanics at MATES.
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The main post at YTC is not a large area, and billeting is a scarce resource that must be carefully managed. Due to the sequence that units were arriving and departing CPL Gallaher and his crew had to spend their first night "back" sleeping in the open in the staging area. Of course, it rained that night, but it really wasn't all that bad. After all, they were on their way home... sort of.
At the wash rack the crew used high-pressure water hoses to blast the mud and dust from their vehicle. This operation must be done carefully however. Some areas cannot be washed with high-pressure. It takes experience and training to know how to accomplish this task. Expensive optics and range-finder devices must be washed by hand. There is something vaguely therapeutic about washing the vehicle. It's almost a precursor of the hot shower they will all soon enjoy.
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The wash rack can be a dangerous place, and a challenge to a young leader to keep his mind on safety when he really wants to think about going home. His crew is tired, and the volume of work they face prior to being re-deployed can be daunting. The rule is "three points of contact" when you're on top of a vehicle, which can be difficult to do when you have to begin to unload the equipment stored there! Once the Yakima dust mixes with a little water it turns into a slippery film than can send a soldier quickly to the concrete below.
It is SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) to "ground guide" each Bradley from the wash rack, through the main post area to its position in the track park. As units return to the firing center from the field the congestion can be significant. Tanks, Brads, 'humvees', trucks, people carrying equipment back and forth - it looks like chaos, but it's not. Speed is held to 5 MPH and ground guides are everywhere. Even at that there are occasional traffic jams.
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Once the crew arrived at the track park it's was time for maintenance. The track ramp became a makeshift back porch, a place to disassemble weapons, inventory tool kits, even have lunch. Eventually the Platoon Sergeant authorized someone to make a "pogy run" - a trip to the post's small PX - for chips, cookies, soda, beef jerky, and all of the other junk food these soldiers had missed for two weeks. Since they were no longer in a tactical environment it was now permissible for them to enjoy a little music while they worked.
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But work they did. All the first day and into the next vehicles, weapons and equipment were stripped down to the smallest of parts, cleaned, inspected, fixed if necessary and then put back together. It was a scene of organized chaos. Inspectors from MATES moved through the track park checking off on inspection worksheets. One by one each crew completed their checklist and satisfied one of the critical and demanding MATES Inspectors that their Brad was ready to be signed back in, ready for the next crew to use.
Once all was said and done, the track park was returned to a state of military perfection. Each Brad was parked uniformly on line, every wrench had been accounted for, every weapon cleaned. Chaos had, once again, become order.
The cycle repeats at the end of every AT and at the end of many drill weekends. It's the price of operating the world's most complex Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
The Crew
The Bradley Commander, CPL Gallaher, is a student at Wenatchee Valley College. He's a hard-charging Infantry NCO and envisions a long career with the National Guard. "I think that First Sergeant is about as high as I want to go. That way I can stay at company level, stay with the troops."
CPL Whitney Nolan is Delta-2-1's Gunner. He's an Insurance Adjuster from Puyallup. "Our first mission against the California Guard was an assault. We secured the objective, killed two TOW missile sites and three enemy APC's. We sustained zero losses and only one (simulated) injury."
Their Driver is PFC Arturo Mendoza. "I liked the cross-country driving here in Yakima" said Mendoza. He only recently returned from basic training. He had been a resident of East Wenatchee, but recently moved to Arizona and transferred to that state's National Guard. He will attend the DeVrey Institute there and study Electronic Engineering. He plans to be wed this November.
Driving a Bradley can be an intimidating experience, especially for a new Driver. Once the Driver closes his hatch his vision is restricted to a few narrow vision blocks. He is totally blind to his right. He must rely on commands from the BC to guide him. Again, the BC uses a few clipped "code words" to communicate with his Driver, just as he does with his Gunner. BC, Gunner and Driver quickly meld into the single consciousness that is the true power behind the Bradley.
Despite the unity the crew of Delta-2-1 has acquired, it can only last for so long. Soldiers come and go. Soon they will be looking for a new Driver. So next year? CPL Nolan hopes to see a few new fresh faces. The cycle continues. "The training is fun. The Guard is a very good experience for young people who can get money for college, and so forth" says CPL Nolan.
The BBQ
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At the end of their last day at the training center the battalion cooks prepare a giant barbecue to acknowledge the efforts of its soldiers. Even before the troops assemble, a light sprinkle closes in. As the heavens open with a cloudburst that intensifies by the minute, more bodies pour from the barracks, determined not to let the weather stop them from enjoying the feast. They fall into a formation as the cooks make final preparations.
Let's see... 200 pounds of steaks, 24 cases of soda, 500 ears of corn, about a dozen bags of salad, 12 gallons each of potato salad and macaroni salad, French bread, steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce and other condiments... yeah, that should just about do it. The topic of conversation quickly turns to "war stories" of their recent training, of who shot best, who got killed and who killed who. It’s officially billed as an "organizational meal" and when it's all over there isn't much left.
Finally it's time to put on a fresh uniform, stack all of their equipment at curbside, sweep and mop their barracks and wait for the chartered buses that will take them home. The weather on this last day is warm and dry... YTC at its best. The Guardsmen exchange a few more war stories and talk about that first thing that they will do when they get home. The buses finally arrive and the only task that remains is to shove everything into the cargo compartments and climb, tired and worn, onto the comfortable air-conditioned vehicles. They are finally on their way back to their homes, their loved ones and their lives. On the way home, there will be a couple of hands of Spades, a quick nap and talk of what they intend to improve for next year. AT '99 is over.
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[Bradley Fighting Vehicle] [Bradley Training] [AT '99 & The "Yakima Warrior"]
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