Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9504030023
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-18 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KEITH GREENE.
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
For those of you who have heard the Army slogan, "We do more by 8 a.m. than most people do all day" - it's true.
The weekend maneuvers began Friday afternoon as Tech cadets gathered at the Tech airport where four UH-1 Iroquois helicopters, better known as "Hueys," ferried them to the university's Whitethorn farm in McCoy for the annual field training exercise. Radford cadets flew out of a landing zone near the Dedmon Center.
The amassed troops and the thumping helicopter blades made the scene seem authentic, but there were minute clues that this was just a drill.
Cadet Edie Mangibin, for example, wore pink nail polish and her face paint made her look more like a cat than a soldier going to battle.
"You've got to be a girl sometime, you know?" said Mangibin, a senior cadet. But by the time field exercises had begun, Mangibin's face paint resembled the more traditional camouflage.
Nearly 100 cadets from both schools ended up at the farm, the south team camped near the drop zone and the other half making camp about three miles to the north.
After setting up camp, cadets on the south team received their orders to prepare to attack the northern campsite Saturday morning. The northern team was ordered to prepare for a possible morning attack.
Both teams deployed, establishing a 360-degree security perimeter as darkness approached and temperatures dropped.
1800 hours (that's 6 p.m. for civilians) - the cadets get the good news that they can all burrow into their sleeping bags (be allowed 100 percent sleep, as the military would say) because of temperatures in the 20s. Usually, the soldiers rotate a 24-hour guard duty.
2130 hours (9:30 p.m.) - the first "casualty." Combat medic Krista Humphries attends to a cadet, who says she can't feel her feet. Humphries tries to warm her with a small heater and rubs her feet. When the officers learn that the cadet had not told them she was suffering from pneumonia, they send her back to the base for medical treatment - in the real world that's Tech's student health services.
(12:30 a.m.) Saturday - Cadets begin to wake and pack up equipment. Some shave and brush their teeth. Others eat a breakfast of MREs - Meals Ready to Eat, a plastic container of dehydrated food that has replaced the notorious C-rations. Army Sgt.1st Class Darnell Ferguson, an ROTC trainer on the Tech staff, scolds a squad leader for not providing correct information about the readiness of his squad during the night. The squad leader did not account for all his troops, which in battle could mean soldiers separated from the squad and possibly lost.
0645 hours (6:45 a.m.) - Platoon leader Andrew Harmon attempts to rehearse with this troops how they will attack the enemy camp. Harmon's platoon fails to complete this essential task becasue of poor communication.
0815 hours (8:15 a.m.) - The staff moves out, 15 minutes late, to cover the two miles to the enemy's camp. Thick undergrowth and steep hills face the soldiers. Nearly two hours later, the platoon stops to send out a scout team as they near the site. The scouts plan to spend less than 20 minutes roving for the enemy observation post. An hour passes as impatient cadets wait for a report. Finally, the scouts return to tell that they found the enemy checkpoint and apparently caught the enemy by surprise, causing them to retreat.
1150 hours (11:50 a.m.) - Platoon leader Harmon maps out an attack strategy. The platoon splits into three groups to attack. As the unit descends upon the defenders, the crack of M-16 rifle blanks begins. Then the loud boom of the M-60 machine guns.
After using up their clips of ammo, cadets aim at enemy targets, yelling, "Bang, bang, bang ... pow, pow, pow!" Simulated artillery explodes, cadets yell, "You're dead!"
One of the attacking squads notices they are walking on plates covered by leaves. After the attack they learned the field of plates was actually supposed to be a minefield.
"Dead" soldiers lie where they were shot, some being searched for booby traps. Survivors are taken as prisoners of war. After nearly 20 minutes, the attacking army appears to be winning, mounting heavy casualties on the defenders.
When the battle ends, senior cadets and Army officers evaluate both attackers and defenders. Both sides are criticized, but the cadets also get a boost when the officers tell them what they have done is much more difficult than the tactical maneuvers they will encounter at Fort Benning, Ga.
After the critique, it's lunchtime. Time to pull out a 3,000-calorie MRE before reassembling for new orders.
Later in the day, the south team will be on the defensive, preparing for a Sunday morning attack by the north team. But now over lunch, both teams rehash and strategize what they could have done to turn the table on their opponent. Tomorrow, is another battle.
by CNB