506th RCT holds breach course at Craig Village
By: Pfc. Paul David Ondik, 4th BCT Public Affairs
In an urban environment, anything can happen at any time. There are walls, windows, doors and, most importantly, people everywhere. To be a successful unit of action, Soldiers must be trained to read and react and be given the tools and training to find and engage the enemy.
October 19-20, the 506th Regimental Combat Team held the field portion of the Assault Breacher Course at the Craig Village training sight on post.
“Division sent down guidance to start this program to train assault breachers within the RCT’s battalions,†said Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Walnoha, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the brigade engineer cell. The participants were all junior leaders who operate as team leaders or above in their units.
“We have representatives from all the battalions,†Walnoha said. “They have learned to employ five different methods, including explosives and ballistic breaching with a 12-gauge shotgun, as well as mechanized breaching,†he said.
“It is very tactically sound the way the brigades have changed into independent units of action,†Walnoha said.
The training consists of two different phases.
The first phase involves equipment familiarization, safety and classroom instruction.
The second phase is the field phase, consisting of practical exercises at the Craig Village range. The troops worked in two platoons broken down into squad elements. Over the course of the two days the platoons alternated, with one conducting explosive door charges, while the other practiced explosive window charges, ballistic and mechanical door breaching techniques.
“The most important part is that they can actually get right out there, hands-on, and deal with live demo,†said Sgt. Robert K. Marsh, reconnaissance NCO.
The students were familiarized with the Black Hawk Dynamic Entry Breaching Toolkit. The kits, which include a battering ram, are the primary option used for mechanical breaching.
The course, which is held once a year, certifies its participants as assault breachers, who can then take their knowledge back down to the platoon and squad level.
“It gives the infantry the ability to breach themselves, rather than have to wait for the engineers,†Walnoha said.
In theatre these skills will provide a framework for dealing with real world obstacles in real time combat.
“It will help these Soldiers defeat doors and obstacles they might not know how to deal with,†Marsh said. “They can pull out a book and look up a certain type of door and know that this is how to use the equipment to gain entry.â€