CSTX: realism provides ready Soldiers

Published June 27, 2013
By David F. Moore
Army Support Activity Fort Dix

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- A convoy of large Army tactical water trucks traveled on Route Mongoose. Drivers, halted by concertina wire, were ambushed at the rear of the line of trucks by a simulated enemy opposing force.

The mission for the Soldiers of the 146th Transportation Company of Ogden, Utah, was a real-world water delivery to a forward operating base built and operated by Army Reserves combat support Soldiers participating in the 78th Training Division's Combat Support Training Exercise (CSTX) at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.

The ambush scenario was part of the training to evaluate combat and survival skills for an organization that could be available for homeland support or overseas deployment.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Carter, 78th Training Division chief of staff located at the exercise control center, explained five FOBS were used to house the nearly 2,500 Soldiers taking part in the three-week long event that wraps up June 28. Real world missions required Soldiers living in FOBs to support one another by providing fuel, food, showers, water and force protection to keep areas operating around the clock.

Soldiers faced a host of tactical training challenges leaving their camp or squashing a riot at an entry control point on any given day on the road or at the FOB.

"As a result of 12 years at war, there has been a paradigm shift in training," said Carter. "In short, commanders own their training and the resources for what they need to take to training or the battle. The days are gone of thinking we are going to get needed items to support operations along the way."

Carter elaborated on the differences between today's war and wars of the past.

"When I was a young Soldier, I saw a first sergeant carrying an extra duffle bag I wondered why," he said. "I soon realized four extra blankets were in the bag for Soldiers who forgot them."

Military police of the 351st Military Police Company, of Ocala, Fla., arrived on scene as the Soldiers towed damaged vehicles and trailers from the attack area. The 351st MPC soldiers were also ambushed, but this time a simulated vehicle-born IED exploded which added to the confusion of travelling in the opposite direction. The military police officers, who received casualties despite reacting quickly, eventually neutralized the small arms fire.

Sgt. Joshua Diss, 79th MPC military police officer mobilized from Rochester, Minn., served with the opposing force, roved the U.S. Army Support Activity-Fort Dix brush to create a realistic training environment.

"This is a great opportunity to observe all the mistakes a unit can make and also what Soldiers can do well," said Diss. "As a member of the opposing force, I get to learn from the mistakes and take away a unit's successful tactics. The CSTX model for training is vital to us to keep our skills honed as reserve Soldiers."

Skill sets the Soldiers used to provide training oversight came from the Army Reserves 75th Training Command Atlantic Division's observer/controller trainers for battalions and above, while other observer controllers from the 78th TD and 1st Army 174th Infantry Brigade provided their expertise at the company or below level.

The 75th TC provided the commanders and staff a digitally-simulated command post platform to allow senior leaders find solutions based on the latest Army doctrine when facing tactical challenges. Six teams, each led by a lieutenant colonel, set the conditions to improve coordination between a commander and the respective staff.

"An inject is sent down to the unit the observer/controller trainers see how the coordination and staff are working by using the military decision making process throughout the exercise," said Col. Joseph Skarbowski . "We see how the commander and staff are working and assist them with their challenges throughout the exercise."

Staff Sgt. Maria Correa, a 78th TD observer/controller who operated a lane, explained each unit travelling to her area and coming into her zone are assessed for how they perform identified Army warrior tasks while under attack and recover damaged equipment. Soldiers had to treat the wounded while recovering equipment since one vehicle was destroyed while transporting a bulldozer in the case of the convoy water delivery. Soldiers facing a threat had to separate the truck from a trailer containing a bulldozer and reattach it to another vehicle in an effort to continue the mission.

"What we're seeing during this training is that the Soldiers make mistakes the first time a convoy comes under attack," she said. "They seem to have the muscle reflexes to do things right the second or third time they face the situation."

Fuel handlers set up fuel storage berm sites to provide the capability to refuel tactical vehicles on the move.

"The exercise is designed to train the Soldiers at their jobs to fuel vehicles and send them up the road to do exactly what they would do down range," said 2nd Lt. Raquel Lorenzetti, 439th Quartermaster Company acting commander mobilized from Middletown, Ct.

The CSTX exercise is designed to train and prepare Army Reserve units that are in the fourth year of the five-year Army Force Generation cycle preparing Soldiers and their units to be ready for their next mission.

"This is a true Joint Base when it came to building this exercise," said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Carter, U.S. Accessions Command. "Everyone at the joint base, ASA-Dix Training Management Division, and the Army Reserve's Equipment Concentration Site bent over backwards to make this CSTX an enduring event."

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CSTX: realism provides ready Soldiers