Battlefield Grissom: Airmen, Soldiers, Marines participate in joint forces exercise

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GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Lance Cpl. Brian Napier guards a UH-60 Black Hawk from the Indiana Army National Guard's 2-238th General Support Aviation Battalion Medical Evacuation Unit during a joint forces exercise here Aug. 5. Napier is assigned to Detachment 1, Communications Company, Headquarters and Service Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group here. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Mark R. W. Orders-Woempner)
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Battlefield Grissom: Airmen, Soldiers, Marines participate in joint forces exercise

Posted 9/24/2012 Updated 9/24/2012

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by Tech. Sgt. Mark R. W. Orders-Woempner
434th ARW Public Affairs

9/24/2012 - GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- On a gray morning, two Army Humvees roll through on patrol when the peace of the new day is silenced by the boom of an improvised explosive device and the sharp pops of gunfire slicing through the air -- this is Battlefield Grissom.

The reserve base in the middle of Indiana cornfields was transformed into a raging battlefield as Army Reserve Soldiers fought back against an ambush, Marine Corps reservists plunged into the battle, and Air Force Reserve and Indiana National Guard medics raced to save lives during a joint forces exercise held here recently.

"The overall goal of the exercise was to test the ability of the 434th Aerospace Medicine Squadron to respond to a simulated IED attack on Army assets involving multiple casualties at a simulated overseas deployed location," explained Dan DeAngulo, Grissom's base emergency manager.

"The Marines got to practice small unit tactics and train some of their new junior (noncommissioned officer) leaders, and the Army got to practice their (psychological operations), and they did an outstanding job with that," DeAngulo added. "This was the very first time we've ever done a joint field training exercise like this with the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and the (National) Guard all working together."

After the initial attack, Soldiers from the 316th Psychological Operations Company reacted swiftly to repel the opposing force while at the same time tending to their wounded.

"We train like it's real," explained U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Mark Hutchins, 316th PSYOP Co. psychological operations specialist. "I even got my stress level up because you're going to be at that stress level when something like this happens."

With the Army doing their best to provide care and fight back, Marines from Grissom's Detachment 1, Communications Company, Headquarters and Service Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group, raced across a field to assist, taking cover where they could while relentlessly moving forward amongst gunfire, yelling and thick smoke.

"It's imperative for all the branches that if they're going to be setting their servicemembers up for success, then you need to train how you fight, you need to practice how you're going to play," said U.S. Marine Capt. Mark Trouerbach, Detachment 1 inspector instructor. "That means making things very difficult, that means creating a little chaos, that means challenging them physically and mentally; it's better to train them for the hard situations than the easy ones."

And, this training was not only realistic and difficult, it was also far different than what they normally receive as communications Marines here, Trouerbach explained.

"The Marine Corps heritage is that every Marine is a rifleman, and in line with that is the concept of the whole Marine, who's proficient in their MOS but also tactically proficient," he continued. "When they go down range, whether they're a radio operator, a data Marine, a wire Marine, and admin Marine or supply, there's about a 75 to 90 percent chance they're going to be in some kind of a combat aspect.

"This gives them a taste of what's expected of them in combat, forces them to think outside the box and make decisions for themselves, and challenges them outside their (military occupational specialty)," the Marine captain continued. "Our guys did a phenomenal job."

After forcing the enemy back into a cinderblock building, a portion of the Marines stood guard over the wounded Soldiers and fellow Marines while another group entered the building to end the enemy threat. At the same time, a group of Air Force Reserve Airman from the 434th AMDS arrived on scene to assist with the injured.

"Their objective was basically to triage, do basic patient assessment , wound care, self-aid buddy care and then practice loading patients onto litters and then load them on a helicopter all within a scenario of a firefight going on while they're doing this," explained DeAngulo. "It was a much more advanced exercise than what they've done in the past."

With the enemy defeated, all focus turned on getting the wounded safely back to medical treatment facilities. The Marines called for an aeromedical evacuation and Soldiers from the Indiana National Guard's 2-238th General Support Aviation Battalion Medical Evacuation Unit responded in their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.

As the Marines brought the helicopter in and set up a defensive perimeter, 434th AMDS Airmen prepared their patients for flight and loaded them on before the Black Hawk took off.

Shortly after the most serious patients were safely evacuated, a group of Marines noticed a red pickup truck with a man standing suspiciously in the back. When they approached, they ordered the man out and found a cache of weapons including an assault rifle and rocket propelled grenades.

While the Marines investigated the situation, a group of angry locals, played by Grissom Air Force personnel, approached the scene, which was still volatile from the firefight just moments earlier. That's when 316th PSYOP Co. Soldiers stepped in to take control of the situation.

"The role players that played against my guys were a big plus for us and gave us some ability to go in and do face-to-face interaction with civilians," recalled U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Wes Corbett, 316th PSYOP Co. training NCO. "We got to do some crowd control, calmed down things a bit and mediated between the Marines and civilian leaders that were there."

In dealing with a group like that, Hutchins said a PSYOP Soldier has to work with the local group leader to gain control and not only has put themselves in the mindset of that leader, but aim to make their goals mutual.

"You don't control him, but you try to get him to understand that (he's) the only one that can control the crowd," he explained. "You don't want anybody hurt, so sometimes you have to use a rough side, but you also have to have a sympathetic side.

"I switch roles a lot of time in my mind, so I can see where he's coming from, so it's a lot of talking, it's a lot of understanding the other side, it's a lot of putting your own emotions into what they're feeling, and in PSYOP, that's what we do," he added. "I want what I want on their side."

With all major objectives completed successfully, the exercise wrapped up, but that is not the end for Battlefield Grissom.

"We're branching out and doing a lot more joint exercises and endeavors, not only with the Army, Marine Corps and the National Guard," explained DeAngulo who went onto describe upcoming training scenarios with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Energy. "We're trying to do a lot more here, to where Grissom is branching out, focusing more on the full spectrum."

That full-spectrum training is exactly what both the Army and Marine units here are looking forward to being a part.

"In the history of the Reserve Center, we didn't play much with the Air Force or Marines," said Corbett. "We never looked for anything joint, but we really enjoyed that we had the opportunity to do this, and all it's going to do is improve the state of affairs for Grissom."

Trouerbach agreed that Grissom's units working jointly together is a win-win for everyone.

"Everything we do is joint," said the Marine captain. "They have to learn how to play with others, they have to learn to talk the same lingo...that sort of thing."

And, that mutual understanding is exactly what this joint exercise was aimed at, said DeAngulo.

"It's a reality of the Department of defense. Everything we do now is joint, and it's been a way of life since 9/11," the base emergency manager continued. "Along with that, when it comes to real-world response, whether it's a natural disaster or a man-made event, we respond jointly.

"The more we work together now, the smoother and more efficient the response will be," he concluded.

Grissom's host unit is the 434th Air Refueling Wing, the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. Grissom's Airmen, Soldiers and Marines routinely deploy around the world in support of the DOD mission and U.S. strategic objectives.

Stay connected with Grissom's servicemembers on Facebook and Twitter.

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