3rd Brigade heads to Mojave Desert (Training for N Korea?)

[54anickel]

Came across this article from a link off of the E-Iraq site at
http://electroniciraq.net/news/

Article:

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/local/7657283.htm

The Army's 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, is leaving this week for California's Mojave Desert where it will conduct training exercises against a North Korean-style opposition force.

The commander of the Fort Benning-based brigade, part of the spearhead assault into Iraq last year, made it clear Wednesday that there are no planned military operations against North Korea.

Col. Steven Salazar said the month-long rotation to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin is part of a larger Pentagon plan to prepare the 3rd Brigade's 4,000 soldiers for rapid deployment to other trouble spots that might arise outside of Iraq.

"There's a lot of speculation that we're going to NTC to prepare to return to Iraq. That's not the case," Salazar said during a Wednesday morning news conference.

Salazar did not rule out a return to Iraq for the brigade. Going back, he said, remains a possibility in 2005. But, because the 3rd Infantry Division is the only one of the Army's 10 divisions not currently committed to other military operations around the world, the division is refitting and reforming into "rapidly deployable modular units" to meet other contingencies.

"We're at war," Salazar said. "Anything could happen."


:scared:

[chenGOD]

1. Why would they go to the desert to train for a North Korean assault?

The Korean peninsula is a fairly mountainous place. One of the reasons the US army had a tough time in the Korean war was cause of all the hills and mountains.


Iraq,Iran or Syria make much more sense in this case.

[54anickel]

2. I have no idea where that speculation came from either. But I have

come to the point where I give more weight to rumor than to the "official" word. I don't think this admin would be dumb enough to try anything against N Korea, but then again that is giving them a lot more credit than their past decisions would give them creit for.

[chenGOD]

4. You are kind 54anickel...:)

giving ShrubCO that much credit.

How about this, which "press releases" do you believe more, American or North Korean?

[Superfly]

5. There is no news here...

brigades constantly rotate through the NTC to train to fight a Korean/Soviet style threat. Shit, I've been there myself many times. Always "fighting" the same enemy.

[tabasco]

11. Ever walked into a rattlesnake den at NTC?

Yikes! I did one night. Walking down a narrow ravine to get a better view of a vehicle down on the desert floor. All of a sudden ...RATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLE in stereo! Man, I flew back up that ravine.

[Superfly]

12. No, something more embarassing

Early one Mojave morning, I walked out from out Battery's position to "take care of business". I found a convenient "pre-dug" hole with a shrub as a seat.

Sat down to enjoy the sunrise, when a loud ruckus arose from under my butt. You see, I had picked the den of a bobcat to use as my rest area. That was one pissed off cat!

B

[Muddleoftheroad]

6. Training

The dessert is just a convenient training ground. When military forces train for an opponent, they are focusing on tactics typically.

[chenGOD]

7. And of course environment doesn't factor into tactics at all...

eom

[Muddleoftheroad]

8. Of course it does

In war, militaries focus more on that. In a non-war setting, you focus more on the tactics so you don't have to send every unit into the arctic to experience cold weather combat.

[demsrule4life]

9. As with Superfly I have been to Fort Irwin

a couple of times. There are units training there year around. One unit leaves another comes in. When the 3rd leaves another unit will take it's place. As Superfly has already said, "no news here".

[Superfly]

3. Ha...

I've been there many times. You always train for a "korean style" opposition. The Koreans have a doctrine similar to that of the old USSR, and that was the mainstay of the NTC training model...and it still is.

[54anickel]

13. Thanks Superfly and all. I wasn't sure if there was anything to it or

not. Figured I'd be able to get the real "poop" on it from DUers.

[Superfly]

14. You're welcome

the training at NTC is more of a study in MACRO...and I mean HUGE MACRO logistics more than tactics, although tactics are important.

You typically pack up your vehicles at your home station, fly to Cali, and spend the first week getting your vehicles off the train.

The second week, you fight "force-on-force" missions with the same "soviet style" force (they call themselves Krasnovians).

The third week, you fight with live bullets on popup targets.

The fourth week you put your vehicles back on the train and go home.

For the 2nd and 3rd weeks, you are really working and flexing the logistics train. It's a huge study in military support operations (like getting ammo to the troops, medicine, etc.)

Brian

[bemildred]

10. I guess it's better than preparing for Fulda Gap some more. nt

[monobrau]

15. Big operation in Alaska coming up

My sources on active duty are heading for Alaska soon for what they said will be the largest international exercise ever conducted. It seems obvious that this would be done with North Korea in mind.

[Superfly]

17. Every 2 years....

It's called Operation Cobra Gold. The sub-operation that occurs in Korea is called Operation Foal Eagle. It happens every 2 years.

There is simply no news here.

[theHandpuppet]

16. Good Lord -- we're gonna invade MARS!!

Bushco wants to be prepared just in case Spirit discovers oil in Sleepy Hollow.