Page 5 - Ft. Irwin High Desert Warrior, November 2021

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High Desert Warrior 5 September 2021
News
National Training Center Box Tour connects business leaders and influencers with the U.S. Army
In an effort to showcase U.S. Army modern- ization and readiness to key business leaders, the National Training Center and Fort Irwin held its semiannual “Distinguished Visitor (DV) Immersion Tour” Oct. 29 and 30.
The nearly 80 business leaders, influencers, and medical professionals made their way to the National Training Center riding on Black Hawk helicopters from Hollywood Burbank Airport. Upon landing at the historic Painted Rocks, the guests were given a tour of Fort Irwin Garrison and the services the installa- tion provides to the nearly 10,000 personnel it houses.
Fort Irwin Garrison Commander Col. Jason Clarke, had a chance to interact and speak to the visitors regarding the Army’s People First Initiative. “We say it all the time, our people are the Army’s greatest asset. By investing in our Soldiers and investing in our communities we are not only improving our people’s quality of life, but are simultaneously building a stronger and more lethal force.”
Following their tour of the garrison, the guests made their way to the National Urban Warfare Center, attended a brief from Brig. Gen. Curtis Taylor, Commanding General of the NTC, and were informed on the NTC’s strategic mission of training the force.
“Warfare has gotten so fast, so lethal, and devastating, that you can no longer afford to learn in the first battle,” said Taylor. “Given how lethal warfare is becoming, we had to build a facility to learn those lessons first.”
Taylor highlighted the significant invest- ments the NTC has taken to train Soldiers how to ethically prosecute large scale combat operations. “This goes beyond the way two tanks can shoot each other,” he said. “From providing role players, chemical weapon stor- age facilities, to air defense and electronic warfare, we can replicate anything you can see on the modern battlefield.”
Following the brief, the visitors made their way to the City of Razish, observed a live com- bat demonstration put on by the 11th Armored
Calvary Regiment, ate meals ready-to-eat (MREs), participated in a building clearing simulation, fired several weapons, and learned about military vehicles and what the future of warfare might entail.
For many of the visitors, the tour provided them with their first exposure to the U.S. Army. Tom Kelly, chief financial officer of Monster Energy called the tour enlightening. He said that most of his exposure about the Army came
from close friends and colleagues.
“I am very impressed with the respect that
all the Soldiers have with one another, and that starts from the top. I see a lot of respect and comradery that the Soldiers have between themselves and seeing that in action was the most impressive thing for me,” said Kelly.
“Every time I turn a corner I’m experienc- ing something new. Right now I’m holding a machine gun I’ve never held, I’m in a flak jacket with a helmet on, but that was just the last 15 minutes. From riding on a Black Hawk, to shooting a .50 caliber machine gun,
I’m seeing the investment the NTC has put in, equipment-wise and personnel-wise to defend America.”
Distinguished visitors also included celebrity entrepreneur and branding expert Clint Arthur, as well as Hollywood producer Alison Savitch.
This was not the first time Savitch has visited Fort Irwin, having produced the music video for “Flight or Fight” at the NTC in 2013. Savitch was impressed how the training center has adapted and modernized since her last visit.
At the conclusion of the tour, the guests thanked the Soldiers of the NTC, promising to share their Army experience with others.
“Getting to know the people and the pro- cesses has been amazing,” said Ryan Dolton, vice president of Commercial Sales at Mecha- nix Wear. “The training here really humanizes the operation which is interesting, I’ve always thought about the unit as a whole and not the parts of it, but this tour has allowed me to meet some of the extraordinary people behind the whole.”
Fort Irwin Soldier to represent region at Army Best Medic Competition
By Kimberly Hackbarth
Weed Army Community Hospital
FORT IRWIN, Calif. — Staff Sgt. David McAfee, the Weed Army Community Hos- pital primary care noncommissioned officer in charge, will represent Regional Health Command-Central at the U.S. Army Best Medic Competition next year.
McAfee represented Weed ACH during RHC-C’s Best Medic Competition Sept. 21- 23, at Fort Carson, Colorado, and placed in the top two overall competitors.
The RHC-C competition this year held new challenges for McAfee, he said.
“Essentially, anytime you finished an event, they’d give you a distance, direction, a grid coordinate, and it was your responsibility to make it over to the next one,” he said. “They’re trying to orient everything toward the critical thinking aspect of it and not just all physical fitness.”
McAfee also represented RHC-C at the Army Best Medic Competition last year, where he and his partner took third place.
While McAfee said it would be tough to say whether the competition last year or this year was more difficult, there was one aspect that made both years different from the Army competition: food.
“[At the RHC-C Best Medic Competition] they give you all your MREs up front,” he explained. “At the Army competition, there are no food restrictions.”
Last year, McAfee and his partner won the RHC-C competition on leftovers from MREs,
he said.
“We had just finished a 12-mile ruck march,
we still had two events ahead of us and all we had was the tabasco sauce that was left over from the MRE and the salts, so we had to make do with that,” he said.
McAfee said he learned from last year’s com- petition and rationed better this year to tackle the competition events, which included an obstacle course, combat water survival test, day and night land navigation, and medical lanes.
During the obstacle course, competitors would complete an obstacle then immediately move to an Army Combat Fitness Test event.
“It was an interesting way to save time and resources, but to also fatigue us extra,” he said. McAfee is slated to compete in the Army Best Medic Competition with the same partner from last year, Maj. Joseph Ahlborn, an op- tometrist with Carl R. Darnall Army Medical
Center on Fort Hood, Texas.
“I couldn’t ask for a better teammate when
we go to the Army competition,” he said. “I already know his strengths and weaknesses, he knows my strengths and weaknesses and we make up for one another, if either of us are lacking.”
Winning the Army competition is the goal, but McAfee said avoiding an injury is also important.
“There’s just so much opportunity to get injured because of how hard you’re pushing yourself, the lack of sleep, and low visibility on rough terrain, so there’s a higher risk for injury at this location,” he said.
McAfee said part of the reason he pushes
so hard during the competitions is because of the support from Weed ACH and Fort Irwin. “I’ve received nothing but incredible sup- port from everyone that’s been around, includ- ing command team, so helpful getting me time to train up for this [competition] and sending me where I need to go in order to be the best I need to be,” he said. “I understand how many resources have been dedicated to getting me to that point and so I’ll give nothing but my
absolute best when I get there.”
Command Sgt. Maj. Dedraf Blash, the
Weed ACH command sergeant major, at- tended the closing ceremony for the RHC-C competition.
Team WACH along with the National Training Center and Fort Irwin community are extremely proud of McAfee, she said.
“This year, with the assistance of Command Sgt. Maj Timothy Sprunger and our Regional Health Command-Central command teams, McAfee and the other representatives from the region had the opportunity to get more rigor- ous, realistic training throughout the region that will enable them to show and prove their skills,” Blash said. “The tenacity that [McAfee] has shown to be the best clearly shows in his winning spirit, as he also mentors other Sol- diers to compete in other competitions such as Expert Field Medical Badges.”
McAfee said he is optimistic that he and his partner will do even better at the next Army competition.
“We came in third place [last year], and we’ve done nothing but get better since,” he said. “We’re both incredibly competitive
Courtesy Photo/ Weed ACH
Staff Sgt. David McAfee (left), the Weed Army Community Hospital primary care noncommissioned officer in charge, and Command Sgt. Maj. Dedraf Blash (right), Weed ACH’s senior enlisted advisor, pose for a photograph Sept. 23, at Fort Carson, Colo., following McAfee’s win at the Regional Health Command-Central Best Medic Competition. McAfee will represent RHC-C at the Army Best Medic Competition.
people, so you’re not going to see us slack when we get out there.”
Blash said she has the same confidence in McAfee and his partner.
“We have no doubt that Staff Sgt. McAfee and his teammate Maj. Ahlborn will be the next Army Best Medic Team in January at Fort Hood,” she said.
For more information go to home.army.mil/irwin