197th Fires Brigade Deployment 2010-2011

Additionally, the Army has established four categories of training to prepare soldiers for the degree of combat they would be likely to encounter, based on their mission. Category (CAT) 1 represents the least degree of training for units whose mission doesn’t require them to leave the base camp. The combat skills required by maneuver units expecting to be in contact with hostile forces is Category 4 training which may last up to 75 days. Within the 197th FIB, the Camp Command Cells (CCCs) and other administrative detachments fit the CAT 1 training, while the Convoy Escort Teams (CETs) and the Force Protection units – the only ones expected to have enemy contact – would require CAT 4 training. Nevertheless, the 197th Commander mandated that all Brigade troops would receive CAT 4 training, which included such scenarios as the use of a combat Identification camera, reaction to an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), clearing a building, and manning a camp perimeter tower.

To accomplish this CAT 4 training, the Brigade Staff constructed a training matrix listing every training requirement on a spreadsheet along with a list of every soldier who would need those trainings. By this "train by exception" method, only those needing each specific training would receive it. Group trainings at home station provided most of the instruction. After that, the matrix provided the names of everyone who had missed certain trainings, and these individuals were then sent to make-up classes at various locations. (Due to circumstances, some soldiers needed to complete these required deployment classes after arriving at Fort McCoy.) With all Pre-MOB training generally complete by July, the troops had the month of August off, to encourage family vacations, and to take care of any unfinished personal business. The date of September 11 is permanently seared into most American’s minds, but it was about to have a secondary meaning to New Hampshire’s 197th Fires Brigade and its two battalions.

Saturday, September 11, 2010 marked the beginning of the deployment for New Hampshire’s 700 troops, and within days, they began heading to their MOB Station at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, joined by their additional battalions from Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Michigan.

For a dissertation on Pre-Deployment training, see the Strategy Research Project titled, “Maximizing Pre-Mobilization Training at Home Station,” by COLONEL MICHAEL R. ABERLE, Of the North Dakota Army National Guard: http://www.dtic.mil/cgibin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA498015