FORT POLK, La. (WAND)- On a steamy summer afternoon, Sgt. Chistopher Morris leaned over a group of his fellow Illinois National Guard Soldiers.
“Hit ‘ENTER,’ then ENTER,’” Morris said, helping his comrades use hand-held GPS receivers called DAGRs.
“I’m the decontamination platoon sergeant,” Morris explained. “So I’m in charge of making sure my 37 soldiers know how to decontaminate soldiers, know exactly what to do in that scenario and how to set up the lines if need be.”
Morris and hundreds of other Illinois National Guard soldiers are taking part in a simulated war through the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana. In this case, they are fighting to free the fictional country of Atriopia from a foreign invader.
“The scenario is fictitious in and of itself, but it’s designed to reflect the current operating environment around the world,” explained Maj. Gen. Richard Hayes, Adjutant General and Commander of the Illinois National Guard. “We look at our adversaries and we try to predict, what would a future conflict (look like)?”
In the simulation, training soldiers fight a mock enemy. Both sides are armed with guns that fire blanks but shoot lasers when fired.
“If I point the weapon at you, I shoot, and the laser hits your equipment, it’ll take you out as if you have died,” Hayes explained. “So you’re dead. Same thing with your vehicle. So we’re able to simulate, through real live fire without rounds, what the actual battlefield conditions are.”
Along the way, soldiers are monitored by Observer Controllers and Trainers.
“Their job is to observe, coach, mentor and document the performance,” Hayes said. “It’s hard to judge yourself while you’re executing something.”
Morris said he has already learned valuable lessons from the training.
“I’ve been in for eight years, and probably my twelve days here have been the most beneficial twelve days of my career,” Morris said. “I’ve learned a lot about troop-leading, a lot about my soldiers, and a lot about how to do real-world operations.”
Four National Guard combat teams take part in such training at one of three national training centers, including at Fort Polk, Hayes explained. The combat training at Fort Polk takes about two weeks, with an additional week to haul equipment and personnel into place and an additional week to take them back.
The training is federally-funded, Hayes said.
