Muleskinner

Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Drew Woolery: Muleskinner Cadet Bret Voigt (left), a sophomore criminal justice major and Cadet Derek Williams, a freshman criminal justice major, participate in a combat drill on the UCM campus Thursday, April 9.

Media Credit: Drew Woolery: Muleskinner National Guard cadets come to UCM to train in realistic battleground scenarios.

Many men haven't aimed a toy gun and yelled, "Bang! Bang!" since they were children playing cops and robbers. But that's exactly what the Central ROTC cadets did in a recent mission.

The difference is that their mission was vital to their combat training and survival.

When two AH-64 Apache helicopters landed in the field west of the Multipurpose Building, the cadets knew their mission was about to begin.

The Army National Guard pilots, of the 135th Attack Battalion from Whiteman Air Force Base, were to land, brief the cadets on their mission and answer any questions.

Prior to the exercise, the cadets were given radio communication training.

"Talk to us in plain English," Chief Warrant Officer Marcus Moore told them. "Don't use code words or brevity (for this exercise). We are here to work for the people on the ground."

Moore told the cadets that the Apaches would be able to travel 150-160 mph, but if they caught the tail wind, it would push them near 200 mph. For the seasoned guardsmen, however, this seemed to constitute less of a challenge than it would to a new pilot.

The mission: Through plotted points and land navigation training, find the opposing forces and defeat them. The Apache pilots were to tell the ground forces about the enemy-their specific location, weapons capabilities and number of combatants.

"I hope this exercise teaches us to utilize the aircraft for missions," said third-year cadet Andrew Carlson.

When the exercise began, the cadets were dropped off approximately 990 yards west of Camp Shawnee at Knob Noster State Park. They had been given plot points and were to navigate their way through the thick of the forest to the location of the enemy.

The cold gusts of wind and temperamental rain showers did little to stop the ground troops from their mission. Despite the extremely high winds, the pilots controlled the aircraft.

Even in the most seemingly grim conditions, the cadets pressed on through the forest toward the enemy's camp.

With the Apaches flying low overhead, the rumble of the engines drowned out any other noise, making simple communication even more difficult between the cadets and the pilots.

"This [type of exercise] is important to know," Moore said. "We did this in Iraq."

He compared this operation to the joint tactical ones Army soldiers would see on a deployment.

During the briefing, he warned the cadets to keep the Apaches busy.

"This is a huge asset," Moore said. "But if I'm bored, it's not good for you guys."

As the cadets laughed, Moore explained how a pilot's boredom is not good in a combat deployment.

"In theater, if we're bored, we'll help other units," he said.

He explained if the troops on the ground weren't communicating effectively with the pilots, asking questions and invoking important information, they would call nearby battalions to see how the Apaches could assist them. He said that if the aircraft weren't being used for a particular mission, the Army would send them somewhere they could be used.

With other cadets acting as opposing forces, the ROTC battalion forged through the mud and thorn bushes of Camp Shawnee for a combat exercise that would prepare them for the rest of their careers.

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