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| Staff Sgt. Jesse Burroughs, section leader,
Company D, 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment,
plays the part of a surrendering enemy soldier to train his
soldiers in the securing of enemy personnel in a MOUT (Military
Operation Urban Terrain) environment at the Udairi range in
Northern Kuwait. |
82nd soldiers ready for urban warfare
Story, photos by Pfc. Matthew Acosta
49th PAD
CHAMPION MAIN, Kuwait — While the United States grows closer
to a possible war with Iraq, elements of the Army’s 82nd
Airborne Division sharpen their skills on what were once the battlefields
of Operation Desert Storm.
Paratroopers from Company D, 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry
Regiment descended on the Udairi training ranges for three days
to polish their urban warfare skills.
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| Platoon Sgt. Dunel Hagelin, Company D,
1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment (top), critiques
his soldiers’ exit from a building during MOUT (Military
Operation Urban Terrain) training at the Udairi range in Northern
Kuwait to prepare soldiers for an urban battlefield they may
encounter in Iraq, |
The Udari training range in northern Kuwait has mock buildings
to simulate the battlefield should the president call for a war
with Iraq.
Sgt. Justin Brown, squad leader, Co. D, 1st Bn., 325th AIR, leads
an anti-armor unit (AT-2), similar to those that aided in the
destruction of the Iraqi tanks during the Gulf War in 1991.
Although an anti-armor unit, Co. D trained in military operations
in urban warfare (MOUT) to prepare itself if called on to help
in clearing Iraqi cities of Saddam Hussein’s soldiers.
“You never know what can happen so you need to be prepared
for anything, including an urban war,” Brown said. “This
type of additional training is necessary because if we go into
Baghdad it will be a building-to-building fight.”
The unit practiced entering and clearing buildings, shooting in
tactical situations and using explosives for breached entering.
Staff Sgt. Jesse Burroughs, section leader, Co. D, 1st Bn., 325th
AIR, said soldiers are rehearsing for a potential war.
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| As Spc. Daniel Hannon, Company D, 1st
Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, covers the hallway
entrance with his M-249 SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon), section
leader Spc. Thomas Miller, Co. D, 1st Bn., 325th AIR, directs
the second section to another room across the hall during
the units MOUT (Military Operation Urban Terrain) training
in the Kuwaiti desert. |
“It’s crucial to be completely familiar with this
type of warfare, so that if one man were to go down, the next
one would step up and the team can move forward and complete the
objective,” he said.
The soldiers expressed confidence in their newly-learned tactics.
“We haven’t had a lot of this type of training back
at Bragg, but since our involvement here, we’ve been training
for MOUT situations every day and have become proficient at it,”
said Pfc. Brandan Parra, rifleman, Co. D, 1st Bn., 325th AIR.
Team member, Spc. Daniel Hannon, an M-249 gunner, added, “Training
here is more realistic; more like a combat situation. We can actually
see what our weapons are capable of.”
As the start of the war draws near, the soldiers look at their
training in a different light.
On the way to the range, the busses passed large scrap yards of
destroyed Iraqi armored vehicles left over from the Gulf War.
“It was amazing to see all those vehicles in one area; all
destroyed and mangled almost beyond recognition,” Brown said.
“We did that, and we’re ready to do it again when the
war starts.”
The anti-armor unit will be ready to clear buildings if needed,
he added.
The American forces plan to continue to conduct training operations,
sustaining and improving their combat readiness in anticipation
of a possible war with Iraq.
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