Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 29, 1995 TAG: 9507310022
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Short
The training required the soldiers of Company B of the First Battalion, 116 infantry, 29th Infantry Division, to set up a defensive perimeter, complete with barbed wire and fox holes, and then guard against "enemy" infiltrators. The enemy eventually found a weak point, and eight of them entered the perimeter, but they were neutralized in the Army's high-tech version of laser tag.
The heat was oppressive, and at times lightning and thunder mimicked real conflict at the camp, located southeast of Fredericksburg, said Sgt. 1st Class Joseph C. Wade of the Christiansburg Army recruiting office.
"It's a pretty big deal" for a guard unit to achieve the highest training rating, Wade said. It is the first time Company B has done so in his memory. Officers and enlisted men from the 82nd Airborne Division evaluated Company B.
The unit also participated in live fire exercises, that included firing, for the first time, an AT-4 anti-tank weapon. They also used M-16s, 9 millimeter pistols, hand grenades, M203 grenade launchers, M60 machine guns and Claymore mines.
National Guard units will be called upon to perform more duties and achieve higher readiness as the Pentagon reduces active duty forces. Company B will train for desert warfare at Fort Irwin, Calif., later this year.
by CNB