AAR for East Wind field craft weekend Jan 14-15 2012 in Leavenworth Ks.

[Furnas]

[d.thomas]

GREAT WEEKEND. got home, found out i lost my fuel cap, most likely i left of off when i was fueling up in tongie,,,aggravating at most.

cant get andy to stop takling about the nite land nav, he had a blast and wants to do more,,,,there goes all MY money! geeze!

[aswayze]

Went pretty well. 

It was sort of a cat herding situation trying to run essentially 3 distinct events simultaneously but thanks to some good work from a lot of guys who were able to step up and instruct we managed to make it happen. 

Recap of the weekend for those who did not make it. 

I taught Comms I to
Daley
Quade
Kelley
Gallion
Fitzgerald
Northcutt 

Stagg and Master Chef (with assistance from Daley when he could duck out of comms) taught German specific skills and basic fieldcraft to
Hunter
Brycehelm
Cal

Warnick, assisted by Martin taught a variety of fieldcraft and sustainment skills to:
Furnas
Furnas
Thomas
Thomas
Thomas

Jackson planned out the night movement and managed all of the coordination

Northcutt managed all of the supply

Obviously, I mostly know what happened with Comms so I'll toss my two bits in. 

Class proceeded along pretty much right on schedule and we broke out at about 15:00 for some practical application training with making wire antennas.   All of the groups managed to make very high performance wire antennas that exhibited excellent resonance and reception characteristics. 

After dinner and the OPORD, the comms guys broke into two teams.  One team Consisting of Gallion and Kelley would seek high ground where they would be able to provide commo support to the maneuver units and also seek to get into communication with the other commo unit which would remain at the Warnick Farm some 50 Km away (almost but not quite successful).     I drove everyone out in the M882 and then hung out down at the pickup area listening in on the goings on with the extra PRC-77. 

Once everyone was though (pretty much right on time) we all hopped back in the vehicles and shuttled on back. 

AAR followed and then everyone was off to bed by about 03:00

I woke up at about 07:00 and tried to stir Trucker with the idea of getting up and drinking coffee.  When even Trucker wanted no part of getting up that early, I figured we might as well sleep in a bit so I ended up rousting everyone at about 09:00

We comms guys spent the last part of the event working on One Shepherd's damaged field phone equipment then just facilitating the pack up and check in process and we were off to Overlooked to do some shopping. 



AAR followed for the night move

[z]

I arrived with Swayze's convoy early Saturday morning.

I got a chance to speak with MC and Stagg about W. German plans.

Then I attended the Comms class.
Prior to the class I knew enough about practical application to get by.  After the class I had a much better understanding for why the equipment works the way it does.
I was allowed time to perfect my jungle antenna setup.  Two men should be able to deploy it in under 5 minutes and take it down in about 2.
With a couple simple additions to my setup and the application of B. Gallion's math I should be able to half the setup time to 2 minutes.
The whole setup is fairly well tuned as well.

I worked with Stagg, MC, Cal, Bryce and Hunter as much as possible throughout the day.  Hunter and crew surprised me during the daytime work for their maturity, asking the right questions, and picking up what we were putting down.

If I was impressed with them during the day, I was astonished with their performance at night.  We left for dinner and the three of them stayed behind to get the fire going and have dinner on site.  When we returned they had a perfect bed of coals going nice and low in the Von Recht.
We took off on the night maneuver and just wanted to make sure the three of them got a healthy understanding of basic land navigation at night.  I ran point, pace and compass.  Cal stuck right with me so I could explain what I was doing to him.  All three guys were super tough and did not complain or cause any issues.  Everyone communicated well and we got home quick and safe.

Cal woke up a bit cold and may need a bivy or heavier bag.  I think the wind was an issue here as he was on the side catching it.

Bryce, Cal, and Hunter, I am very impressed with your performance and how squared away you guys are with the survival aspect of this.  I look forward to seeing you three and the rest of your crew at more events.

Thanks to Swayze for throwing a great event.

I found out I need a more contemporary compass that holds a glow.  I also need a carabineer or something to hold my headset, compass and flashlight to my rig.  My boots may need looking into and I would like a more lightweight pair for the long hikes.

[aswayze]

Some follow on projects stemming from this last weekend:

Build more expedient 292 antenna heads. 

   I had a pair of expedient 292 antenna heads I had made up out of field telephone parts, brass shim material, bits of obsolete robots and a ABS pipe cap.  They worked quite well but since there was only two of them and a total of 3 projects going on that simultaneously wanted to use them there was quite a bit of back stabbing and stealing going on in order to get things done.    Additionally, several people expressed interest in having their own so we, at some point, really should cook up some more of these. 

Build a similar expedient patrol antenna head.

       Z and I talked about this as a quicker to employ option for the SEM-52a.  We need to make one up and see how well it works for us.  For those of you who are familiar with the expedient 292, this one is similar but rather than having a 3 piece counterpoise it simply has one counterpoise wire pointing straight down.    Emitter up, ground down.  Very simple and easy.

Anyhow, we’ll probably try to forage up enough parts from the Hamfest next weekend to make this happen and then target an evening next week to actually get together and make them up. 

Let me know if you’re interested in helping or if you just want to drop in and make one for yourself. 

[Furnas]

C sqn. had two Royal Irish Rangers along with three 11th Hussars at the Field Craft Weekend. Poor weather conditions did not afford us any training with our armoured vehicles. Our plan was to learn section level survival skills and put that learning to use in the field. Azubi was not present to lead us  so I was appointed at squad leader (PL) with Dave Thomas being ASL(APL).

We received some quality training Saturday and Sunday from the One Shepherd cadre. Topics covered were: Patrol Base/ Basic First Aid given by Warnick. Land Navigation was provided by Whisky Tango and Field Maneuvers by Brett Gallion/Warnick.

Saturday night we were given an OpOrd with limit preparation time to find a route across rough terrain at night. None of us had done land nav at night prior. Launch time was 2100 hours and we had to be at our extraction point by 0200 hours. No enemy contact was expected and full moon was to be present at 2222 hours. We were issued the IWS night scope and a PRC351. We requested a Slugger and we were approved. Also, attached to our team was Whisky Tango as our American liaison.

Our team was the last team to be deployed, so we had a thirty minute lag time. Right away we had to find a creek crossing. Then we encountered a 70* incline for over 100 meters. We chose to stay on our heading and overcome the incline. We literally crawled up the incline making it to the top, but it took longer than it should have and slowed us down. Once we crested the hill we were able to check in with the radio relay a little behind schedule. We continued on our westward direction. The clear skoes allowed us to see some deep wash out areas we had to go around to avoid getting injured.

Leading the pack was Dave Thomas and Austin Furnas. Both were using their compass to confirm with the other our heading. Next in line was Davey Thomas, Andy Thomas, and rear security was Whisky Tango. I altered my position throughout the line. Austin and Dave did a great job on working together and keeping us on course. The moon light helped around 030 hours.

Whisky Tango and I were doing the pace count. Although we thought we had lost our count but our numbers were not more than 100 meters apart. We confirmed with the Slugger our position to give to the radio relay. We also used the Slugger to confirm we were at the point where there was suppose to be a road. No road! We came to our waypoint road another two hundred meters west than the map showed. Our route was slow going until we reached the road.

I found out that we were the last team to reach the extraction point. We confirmed our location to the relay team. We picked up our pace. Our trail led us to the radio relay team. We made out exit at 0130 hours.
.
The radio relay was talking to me in code that I had no idea what they were talking about. I found out that Dave Thomas was given a ceoi. Once I had the card it was a lot easier to communicate. Our light and sound discipline sucked and will need to improve greatly, but we were more concerned about our routing than light and sound discipline. The IWS was extra gear we really did not need. HOWEVER, it would have been needed if it was over cast night. The Slugger was very useful in communicating and confirming our location. I believe we used our American liaison more than we should have. We had one squaddie that slowed the team down and almost became a causality of war. Remember when you’re humping through rough terrain that your buddies are probably tired and sore too but being a cry baby or wimp does not help team morale and functionality! No one is coming to carry you out so suck it up and keep on moving!

Dave and Austin did great keeping us on track. We ended up straight west from our drop zone. Praise to you guys. Extra red filters or red lasers and a UV light would have been helpful. Next time I will chose another route to avoid terrain issues. Overall I think the weekend was productive for C Sqn.

Thanks for a fun weekend.


Respectfully submitted,

Dave Furnas
Ground Pounder
Royal Irish Rangers
Berlin Brigade
                                  
LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!

[TJackson]

Copy No   1 of   1
315thRRC
Leavenworth KS
141500JAN12

 
To: ALCON
From: S3 JACKSON

START MESSAGE





TASK ORG

HQ SEC:  
C.O. (OIC) Swayze/(TRANS)       U.S. Patrol: PL/RTO Kelly           UKPatrol:    PL: D. Furnas              
S3 Jackson                                                  RTO/APL Gallion                                APL: D. Thomas
S1  (NCOIC) Warnick                                                                                              A Furnas
S4 Northcutt (SUP)                                                                                                  A. Thomas
RTO FitzGerlad                                                                                                        D.E. Thomas
RTO Quade                                                                                                             Attached* Martin

West GER Patrol:
PL: Attached* Staggenborg
APL/RTO: Daily
H. James
C James
Helm



I. SITUATION

CURRENT DATE:: JAN 14 2012
CURRENT LOCATION: (ASSEMBLY AREA) (A.A) WARNICK FARM, LEAVENWORTH KS

WEATHER:
HIGH: 43F /  LOW: 28F   / PRECEP 0%  / WIND: 12mph NW  / SUN RISE: 150740JAN12/ SUNSET: 141720JAN12  / MOON  RISE           / MOON SET            /   ALUM

A.O:
BLUFF WOODS CONSERVATION AREA = 50KM FROM A.A AT 8 DEGREES AZIMUTH FROM A.A
OBSTACLES: STEEP GRADIENTS IN TERRAIN
AVENUES OF APPROACH: MO HWY 59 / SW 70TH RD/ HENMEN RD / CO RD 267
KEY TERRAIN: RIDGE LINE  AT VIC GRID 320883
OBSERVATIONS/FIELDS OF FIRE: BLUFF LINE AFFORDS GOOD LOS COMMO
COVER AND CONCEALMENT: VEGETATION SHOULD BE LIMITED TO GROUND COVER

ENEMY( ENY)
COMPOSITION: N/A
DISPOSITION: N/A

FRIENDLY FORCES (F.F)
BRITISH C SQDRN REMAINS ATTACHED/ MOVING IN SOUTH EAST  PORTION OF A.O TO NORTH WEST PORTION  OF A.O
WEST GERMAN UNIT: REMAINS ATTACHED/ MOVING IN NORTH EAST SECTOR OF A.O TO NORTH WEST PORTION OF A.O


CIVIL CONSIDERATIONS:
PARK RANGERS WILL BE WEARING TAN/BROWN SHIRTS WITH GREEN/OD PANTS AND OR WILL HAVE PROPER ID/ ALL AUTHORITY WILL BE RESPECTED IN THE A.O. / REPORT TO HIGHER IF CONTACT IS MADE
CIVILIANS IN THE A.O ARE TO BE RESPECTED. PLEASE REFER TO THE COMMAND MESSAGE AS REQUIRED

II. MISSION

315TH RRC WILL CONDUCT RADIO RELAY AND LINK UP OPERATIONS AT A.O BLUFF WOODS CONSERVATION AREA FROM 152100JAN12 TO NLT 160200JAN12 IN ORDER TO TRAIN ON MISSION ESSENTIAL FIELD CRAFT SKILLS IN PREPARATION FOR OPERATION EASTWIND

III. EXECUTION

COMMANDERS INTENT:
PURPOSE: DEVELOP COMPETENCIES IN ASSIGNED TASKS TO PREPARE FOR FUTURE OPERATIONS

KEY TASKS:
1.) TRANSIT TO AND FROM A.A. TO A.O
2.) MAINTAIN ACCOUNTABILITY OF ALL TROOPS AND EQUIPMENT AT ALL TIMES                        
3.) REMAIN IN CONTACT WITH T.O.C AS NEEDED


ENDSTATE:  
EVERYONE WILL RETURN SAFELY AND GAIN VALUABLE IN NIGHT TIME T.T.P’S

CONCEPT OF OPERAITON

PHASE 1:
1.) TRANSIT FROM A.A. TO A.O
-U.S PATROL WILL LD AT SP1 VIC GRID 312877
-WEST GER PATROL WILL LD AT SP2 VIC GRID 331882
-UK PATROL WILL LD AT SP3 VIC GRID 332873

PHASE 2:
2.) EXECUTION PHASE
-US PATROL WILL MOVE FORM SP1 TO NAI 1 IN VIC GRID (         ) THEN MOVE BACK TO LINK UP SITE AT SP1 WHEN ALL OTHER PATROLS HAVE LINK UP
-WEST GER PATROL WILL MOVE FROM SP2 TO LINK UP SITE AT VIC GRID 312877
-UK PATROL WILL MOVE FROM SP3 TO LINK UP SITE AT VIC GRID 312877

PHASE 3 TRANSIT FROM LINK UP POINT AT VIC GRID 312877 TO A.A.


1.) MANEUVER

ORDER OF MARCH: US PATROL/ WEST GER PATROL/ UK PATROL

2.) FIRES:
NONE

3.) TASKS TO MANUVER UNITS

T.O.C:
- 880 IS READY TO CONDUCT OPERATIONS IN A.A NLT 2000HRS
-CHECK OUT AND READY PRC-77 PRIOR  NLT 2000HRS
-EST COMPANY RADIO NET NLT 2000HRS
-ISSUE GEAR TO PATROLS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE FROM A.A

U.S PATROL
-DRAW 1 PRC-77 AND EST FIELD ANTENNA
-DRAW 1 PVS-5
-CONDUCT PCI PRIOR TO INCLUDE 1 SLEEPING SYSTEM PER PATORL/2 QTS WATER PER TROOP  PRIOR TO LD FROM A.A
-LD FROM SP1 NLT 2100HRS
-EST RADIO RELAY SITE AT VIC GRID 320883
-PROVIDE MESSAGE RE-TRANSMIT TO T.O.C  FROM OTHER UNITS IN A.O BACK TO T.O.C 315THRRC
-LINK UP AT SP1 NLT 0200HRS
-DEBRIEF NLT 0300 IN A.A

WEST GER PATROL

- DRAW 1 SIM 35
-DRAW 1 SIM 52 A
-DRAW 1 ORION 80
-CONDUCT PCI PRIOR TO INCLUDE 1 SLEEPING SYSTEM PER PATORL/2 QTS WATER PER TROOP  PRIOR TO LD FROM A.A
- CREAT PATROL ROUTE WITH WAYPOINTS AND BACK STOPS/ NOTE DISTANCES
- REPORT EVERY HR TO T.O.C
-ASSIGN ENROUTE RECORDER AND RECORD ALL PATROL EVENTS
- ASSIGN PACE/COMPASS
-LINK UP AT SP1 NLT 0200
- DEBRIEF NLT 0300 IN A.A.

UK PATROL

- DRAW 1 IWS
-DRAW PRC 35
- CONDUCT PCI PRIOR TO INCLUDE 1 SLEEPING SYSTEM PER PATORL/2 QTS WATER PER TROOP  PRIOR TO LD FROM A.A
-ASSIGN COMPASS/PACE
-ASSIGN ENROUTE RECORDER AND RECORDER ALL PATROL EVENTS
-CREAT PATROL ROUTE WITH WAYPOINTS AND BACK STOPS/ NOTE DISTANCES
- REPORT EVERY HR TO T.O.C
-LINK UP AT SP1 NLT 0200HRS
-DEBRIEF NLT 0300HRS


4.) COORDINATING INSTRUCTIONS

CCIRS
-P.I.R
PHYSICAL FEATURES OF A.O./ ACCURACY OF MAP/ VEGETATION/ TRAILS
-F.F.I.R
REPORT SAFETY ISSUES
REPORT EQUIPMENT ISSUES/ SENSITIVE ITEMS REPORTS

TIMELINE:
-1500HRS: WARNO ISSUED
-1700HRS: OPORD ISSUED
-1730HRS: DINER
-1830HRS: DINER
-1900HRS ARRIVE AT A.A
-2000HRS DEPART FROM A.A.
-2100HRS ARRIVE AT A.O/ LD FROM SP
-0200HRS LINK UP / MISSION COMPLETE
-0300HRS ARRIVE AT A.A/ DEBRIEF

TRANS WILL DROP PATROLS IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER
-US PATROL
-WEST GER PATROL
-UK PATROL
TRANS PICK UP WILL BE CONDUCTED AT LINK UP SITE
TRANS CONVOY WILL INCLUDE 8-80 DRIVER SWAYZE AND SUV DRIVER MARTIN


RISK ASSESMENT
-5 POINT CONTINGENCY PLANS WILL BE LEFT WITH ANY SPLITTING FORCE
-BUDDY TEAMS WILL BE USED AT ALL TIMES
- PROPER FOOTING AND FOOT WEAR WILL BE USED AT ALL TIMES WHILE MOVING AT NIGHT
-ALERT TROOPS TO HAZARDS TACTICALLY AS NEEDED WHILE MOVING
- ALL TROOPS WILL HYDRATE 3 HRS PRIOR TO LD/ ALL TROOPS WILL AT LEAST CARRY 2 QTS OF WATER  ON PATORL
- HYPOTHERMIA WILL BE WATCHED FOR AND S1 ALERTED/ 1 SLEEPING SYSTEM PER PATROL WILL BE CARRIED/ PROPER CLOTHING WILL BE WORN AND INSPECTED BY APL OF EACH PATROL
- VEHICLES WILL OBEY ALL TRAFFIC LAWS/ STAY SEATED WHILE IN TRANSIT
- PANIC AZIMUTH WILL BE BACK AZIMUTH TO EACH PATROLS SP

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
-POLICE UP ALL TRASH AND LITTER WHILE IN A.O. AND A.A
-DIG LATRINES DOWNHILL AND FILL AFTER USE AT LEAST 25 M AWAY FROM ALL PERSONNEL AS NEEDED

IV SERVICE AND SUPPORT

GENERAL
-ALL EQUIPMENT WILL BE ISSUED PRIOR TO A.A. DEPARTURE
- ALL EQUIPMENT WILL BE SIGNED AND ACCOUNTED FOR

TRAINS
-COMPANY TRAINS IS LOCATED IN THE A.A

MATERIALS AND SERVICES

SUPPLY
1.) CLASS I (DINER PRIOR TO MISSION)
2.) CLASS IV (RADIOS/ NIGHT VISION)

TRANSPIRATION

8-80
SUV POV

SERIVCES
NONE

MAINTENANCE'S
AS NEEDED IN A.A BY S4

V COMMAND AND SIGNAL

COMMAND
1.) LOCATION OF CP
T.O.C IS LOCATED IN GP SMALL IN A.A

2.) C.O
A. SWAYZE

3.) SUCCESSION OF COMMAND

-C.O SWAYZE
S3 JACKSON
S1 WARNICK
S4 NORTHCUTT
US PL
UK PL
WEST GER PL
IN ORDER OF LAST NAME

SIGNAL

1.) ALL COMMO WILL BE DONE THROUGH RADIO/ EMERGENCY WILL UTILIZE CELL PHONE
2.) ALL UNITS WILL REPORT TO THE T.O.C EVERY HR AT THE TOP OF THE HR
3.) CEOI / ALL UNITS ARE ISSUED A SOI CARD/ CHANGES TO FREQ ARE AS FOLLOWS: PRIMARY **.* ALTERNATE **.* / RUNNING PASSWORD PRINCESS/ CHALLENGE AND PASSWORD: CHUMBA/ FLAT FOOT

SWITCH ONLY WHEN ORDERED BY T.O.C
REPORT ALL INTERFERENCE WITH TRANSMISSIONS

END MESSAGE

Acknowledge:
 

Commander : Allan Swayze

Authentication:
Annexes: n/a
Distribution: unrestricted
 

UNCLASSIFIED