1st Battalion 22nd Infantry News January 2008

1st Battalion 22nd Infantry

News Reports

January 2008

STRIKE Tactical Solutions teach 1-22 Inf. Regt. a brutal lesson

Realistic hand-to-hand combat tests Soldiers’ mettle

1-22 Inf. Regt. 1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div.

FORT HOOD, Texas – Upon walking into the 4th Infantry Division’s Raider Gym, Soldiers noticed the bandages, swollen and bruised appendages,
and exhausted expressions upon the Soldiers’ faces. It was evident that hand-to-hand training of another level had taken place.

A group of Soldiers from the companies of 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team,
engaged in a little extra hand-to-hand combatives training in December, using a combatives regimen not typically employed by today’s U.S. Army.

Henk Iverson of STRIKE Tactical Solutions had come to Fort Hood, bringing his “no holds barred” training style with him,
said 2nd Lt. Nolan Maxwell, assistant fire support officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-22 Inf. Regt.

The training for the Soldiers of 1-22 included close quarters combatives, and close quarters knife, pistol, and rifle techniques.

Generally, Iverson is hired to train the U.S. Army 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment, U.S. Army Special Forces,
Rangers, and other elite military groups in what is known as “confined space warfare,” explained Maxwell.

“Iverson is the real deal,” he said.

During the three days of combatives with Iverson, the Soldiers of the “Regulars” Battalion learned how to disarm
and incapacitate armed enemy combatants quickly and with extreme aggression.

Capt. Drew Conover, commander of Company A, 1-22 Inf. Regt., contacted STRIKE and arranged the training to provide an extra edge
to the “Regulars, by God!” in case they should find themselves in a life-threatening, close-quarters situation in the future.

With the Raider Brigade deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in early 2008,
1-22 Inf. Regt. continues to train hard to prepare its Soldiers for combat, said Maxwell.

Sparring in full combat gear with “dummy” rifles, Soldiers train at combat speed, pulling no punches
and disregarding injuries that do not require immediate and professional medical attention, said Maxwell.

According to Iverson’s training regimen, if a Soldier is injured while fighting the enemy, who’s to say he’s out of the fight, explained Maxwell.

So if a trainee is still physically capable of continuing the training at full speed, he is expected to do so.

Clear evidence of this intensity level could be found with Spc. Raymond Schuck, an infantrymen assigned to Co. A,
who continued to fight in spite of his shoulder being wrapped in bandages and ice packs.

“The training is pretty intense,” Schuck said, while pointing out the myriad of injuries sustained by his fellow Soldiers
as they practiced their disarming moves in the gym.

If strained shoulders and twisted ankles are ignored during training, there are certainly no rest stops for bloody and broken noses, said Maxwell.

A busted nose proved to be the most common of the injuries sustained by the Soldiers,
resulting from the front rim of their Army Combat Helmets crushing down upon the bridge of their noses
during one of their close-quarters bouts, he said.

“Iverson calls the resulting wounds ‘good blood’ as they do not seriously or permanently injure the trainee,
but they certainly open their eyes to the reality of a situation that they may find themselves in while deployed,” he said.

Despite the training being only three days long, the Soldiers could tell by the afternoon of the third day, they had gotten their money’s worth.

It all amounts to an “in your face” realistic combat scenario for the infantry Soldiers that held a great deal of training value, said Maxwell.

“Injuries sustained during the training turn out to be a small price paid considering what they’ve gotten out of the experience,” Maxwell said.

**********************

1-22 Inf. Regt. prepares equipment for upcoming deployment to Iraq

2nd Lt. Robert Ganim

1-22 Inf. Regt.

1st BCT, 4th Inf. Div

FORT HOOD, Texas – In the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment Motor Pool, platoon sergeants, squad leaders
and team leaders of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, are busy preparing vehicles and loading shipping containers
for the Raider Brigade’s upcoming deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Upon completing two weeks of advanced gunnery tables and live-fire exercises, the Soldiers of the “Regulars” Battalion
returned from the field to clean and repair their equipment and load for the brigade’s deployment in March.
Sgt. 1st Class Angel Medina, a platoon sergeant assigned to the mortar platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company,
1-22 Inf. Regt. ensured his Soldiers packed and secured every load correctly so everything arrives in Iraq intact.

The process of moving containers and vehicles from a motor pool to the port involves many challenges,
said 1st Lt. Matthew Thompson, platoon leader, HHC, 1-22 Inf. Regt.
The Mortar Platoon which belongs to the headquarters company has the unique challenge of shipping vehicles with mortar tubes inside,
he further explained. “We have decided to bubble wrap all the tubes to protect both the tube and vehicle
from any jostling during movement to our destination,” Thompson said.

For many new Soldiers, a battalion motor pool during movement preparation for a deployment may seem like controlled chaos,
but in reality, every task is done for a very specific reason.

“It all comes down to a good plan and good documentation,” said 1st Lt. James Hall, unit movement officer for HHC, 1-22 Inf. Regt.
“Every container or vehicle must be packed according to its load plan, and then each section must do the paperwork for their equipment.”

In addition, each company also must account for their Hazardous Materials which can be a very time consuming and tough job,
said 2nd Lt. Nolan Maxwell, HHC, 1-22 Inf. Regt., HHC, 1-22 Inf. Regt.
“(HAZMAT certifiers) can be held personally responsible and fined for any HAZMAT violations that the unit incurs,” Maxwell said.

The Raider Brigade Combat Team will continue to conduct unit movement operations at Fort Hood’s Deployment Ready Reaction Field
into February as Soldiers prepare their equipment for shipment and vehicles for movement to Beaumont, Texas,
to be loaded onto cargo ships and transported to Kuwait.

Regulars load shipping containers bound for Iraq

**********************

Raider Brigade Combat Team conducts Combined Arms Live-Fire Exercises

FORT HOOD, Texas – The 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division will be conducting advance Bradley gunneries
and live-fire exercises during a combined live-fire exercise Jan. 7-11 as the Raider Brigade makes its final preparations for an upcoming mission in Iraq.
   The 1st Battalion, 66th Armor and 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiments will conduct mounted and dismounted combat training,
to include Bradley crew and infantry squad live-fire exercises to prepare its Soldiers for a third deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
   The live-fire training exercises will be conducted at multiple Fort Hood ranges, employing an evaluation team to walk the lanes
and observe the Soldiers training on Bradley Fighting Vehicles, aviation live-fire integration, and Military Operations in Urban Terrain.
   The troopers from 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regt. will conduct scout live-fire exercise to hone their small unit collective skills.
   In addition, the 4th Bn., 42nd Field Artillery Regt. will conduct Paladin gunnery to qualify the artillery crew and the Raider Brigade forward observers.
   The combat training is the Raider Brigade Combat Team’s final iteration of training prior to its upcoming deployment to Iraq.
   “We are sharpening our bayonets before we deploy,” explained Col. Ted Martin, the 1st BCT commander.
   The 1st Brigade Combat Team, which received news last year of a deferment of its original departure date to early this year,
is scheduled to join the 4th Inf. Div. headquarters, who recently assumed command of Multi-National Division – Baghdad, Dec. 19,
from the 1st Cavalry Division.
   The 1st BCT continues to prepare for its upcoming deployment after the departure of the division headquarters
and Special Troops Battalion Soldiers approximately one year after leaving the Iraqi capital.
   The 1st Cav. Div. is returning home to Fort Hood, Texas, following a 15-month deployment to Baghdad.

**********************

BACK