thedrifter
03-28-09, 06:49 AM
Targeting al-Qaida
Fort Bliss: Area caves ready soldiers for Afghanistan terrain
By Chris Roberts / El Paso Times
Posted: 03/28/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT
U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said he believed adjustments in U.S. policy meant Fort Bliss soldiers would be sent to Afghanistan.
"Because of the drawdown in Iraq and the buildup in Afghan istan, I have no doubt that will affect Fort Bliss soldiers and we will see them in Afghanistan," Reyes said Friday.
Two 1st Armored Division units, the 1st and 4th brigade combat teams, have been undergoing training tailored for duty in Iraq, said Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt. The 4-1 is to deploy this spring and the 1-1 toward the end of the year. She said those plans were still intact Friday.
The post commander, Maj. Gen. Howard Bromberg, visited the Army's premier training center at Fort Irwin, Calif., earlier this year to get ideas for improvements on the Fort Bliss ranges. Among the areas he looked at were the National Training Center's seven tunnel complexes used to replicate terrain in Afghanistan.
No construction has begun on that project at Fort Bliss, but Canadian and U.S. Special Operations forces have already been training in caves on mountainous parts of the range in New Mexico, said Lt. Col. Jonathan Cohen, a battalion commander responsible for development on Fort Bliss' 770,000 training acres.
Caves in the Sacramento Mountain foothills near Alamogordo and in the Jarilla Mountains near Oro Grande offer terrain similar to that in Afghanistan, said Ed Robbs, a Fort Bliss range development officer.
"The Jarillas are all pock-marked with caves from mining," Robbs said.
Other projects under consideration would create simulated towns on the ranges using facades that mimic those seen in Afghanistan. Pashto, a language spoken in Afghanistan, would be used on signs instead of the Arabic used by Iraqis, Cohen said.
Chris Roberts may be reached at chrisr@elpasotimes.com; 546-6136.
Ellie
Fort Bliss: Area caves ready soldiers for Afghanistan terrain
By Chris Roberts / El Paso Times
Posted: 03/28/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT
U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said he believed adjustments in U.S. policy meant Fort Bliss soldiers would be sent to Afghanistan.
"Because of the drawdown in Iraq and the buildup in Afghan istan, I have no doubt that will affect Fort Bliss soldiers and we will see them in Afghanistan," Reyes said Friday.
Two 1st Armored Division units, the 1st and 4th brigade combat teams, have been undergoing training tailored for duty in Iraq, said Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt. The 4-1 is to deploy this spring and the 1-1 toward the end of the year. She said those plans were still intact Friday.
The post commander, Maj. Gen. Howard Bromberg, visited the Army's premier training center at Fort Irwin, Calif., earlier this year to get ideas for improvements on the Fort Bliss ranges. Among the areas he looked at were the National Training Center's seven tunnel complexes used to replicate terrain in Afghanistan.
No construction has begun on that project at Fort Bliss, but Canadian and U.S. Special Operations forces have already been training in caves on mountainous parts of the range in New Mexico, said Lt. Col. Jonathan Cohen, a battalion commander responsible for development on Fort Bliss' 770,000 training acres.
Caves in the Sacramento Mountain foothills near Alamogordo and in the Jarilla Mountains near Oro Grande offer terrain similar to that in Afghanistan, said Ed Robbs, a Fort Bliss range development officer.
"The Jarillas are all pock-marked with caves from mining," Robbs said.
Other projects under consideration would create simulated towns on the ranges using facades that mimic those seen in Afghanistan. Pashto, a language spoken in Afghanistan, would be used on signs instead of the Arabic used by Iraqis, Cohen said.
Chris Roberts may be reached at chrisr@elpasotimes.com; 546-6136.
Ellie