Utah Guard unit trains to support Operation Enduring Freedom mission

FORT McCOY, Wis. - Members of the 118th Engineer Company are at Fort McCoy, Wis., preparing for a deployment to support Operation
Enduring Freedom.

Since their arrival at Fort McCoy in July, Soldiers from the 118th, an Army National Guard unit with its home station in American Fork,Utah, have participated in extensive training on equipment and procedures to learn skills they will need to be successful in their mission overseas. Due to the training and support received in Utah, the 118th arrived very prepared for the rigors of deployment, said Company Commander Capt. Blake Bingham. "I credit part of our success to the tremendous support network that exists among our local communities back home Our sappers (combat engineers) had an overwhelming show of support as we embarked on our deployment and we continue to receive that same critical support from home as we've trained at Fort McCoy."

While at Fort McCoy, the unit planned and executed training to provide them with specific combat, survival and warrior skills. 
This training is the cornerstone for priming Soldiers for deployment. Soldiers train in an environment and in situations that
replicate, as realistically as possible, those they will experience overseas. Soldiers lived in tents in a field location for a portion of
the time they were training at Fort McCoy. The training area was surrounded by concertina wire, entry control points and guard towers.
Soldiers traveled in convoys. They encountered role players posing as civilians on the battlefield or opposing forces.  The training is repetitive, and its
intensity increases with each iteration. 

The ultimate goal is to have Soldiers respond intuitively to threats and situations they encounter. The list of required training is extensive.  The 118th participated
in training related to weapons qualification, Army warrior training, physical fitness, leadership, combat life saving, improvised explosive
devices (IEDs), mounted combat patrol operations, urban operations, entry control point operations, motor vehicle operations and maintenance, detainee operations, hand-to-hand combat, reflexive fire, night live-fire, culture/customs/language, land navigation, and much more.