Fort Bliss Monitor

STX completes core phase for OBC students

SGT. TRINACE JOHNSON
6th ADA Public Affairs

OBC students strategi-cally plan STX missions prior to moving out.

It started out as a simple peacekeeping mission designed to help restore local order and keep populists and insurgents out. For many of the lieutenants, it was the first real look at how the Army runs on active duty.

Ninety percent of them were fresh out of college and had no prior military experience. This recent Situational Training Exercise at McGregor Range for the core phase of the Officer Basic Course students here, like many exercises before, showed the students that when it comes to Army operations, they have to be prepared for anything.

The aim for the STX according to Capt. Tim Lopsik, STX coordinator for AMD OBC, was to develop and assess OBC lieutenants’ leadership, teamwork and decision making skills using plausible military situations that may be encountered on current operations. He said that the STX serves as the capstone training management event for the students and culminates the lessons learned throughout OBC Core. Furthermore, he added it would allow them the opportunity to be evaluated as leaders in a field environment under conditions of physical and mental stress for the first time as officers; challenging their mental and physical abilities.

Capt. Robert L. McCormick, OBC Branch Chief, Directorate of Training and Doctrine Leadership Division, said that for many of the students, this would be the last training that they will have prior to going into combat units and then into combat.

“Many of these students will be deploying within six months,” McCormick said. He continued, “Some will go to the 101st [Infantry Division], Fort Bragg, [N.C.] and some will go with 35th Brigade to Korea.” He said what they pick up on the exercise would help them when they get to their units.

Lopsik said that the exercise was designed to reinforce the importance of effective leadership and teamwork to accomplish the mission in a contemporary operational environment. The STX tasks evaluated the lieutenants’ leadership abilities as they applied to troop-leading procedures, convoy operations, negotiations, cordon and searches, raids, security patrols, tactical road marches, reaction to ambushes and indirect fire, vehicle dismount, injured personnel evacuation, how to run a tactical operation center and more.

The OBC NCOIC, Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Marshall, said that with all the evaluations the students faced they also had to differentiate friendly forces from enemy, as well as friendly civilians from hostile. The Soldiers role playing as civilians on the battlefield presented themselves as “friendlies” only to later reveal themselves as “hostiles.”

“You just never know what you’re going to run into,” Marshall said.



www.bliss.army.mil	Published for the Fort Bliss/El Paso, Texas Community	August 19, 2004

This “friend” turns out to be a foe at a check point during the mission. 2nd Lt. Jeremiah Davis calls in to report an ambush. Checking civilians on the battlefield serves as a vital part of training. <map name="boxmap-b4"> <area shape="rect" coords="0, 589, 120, 600" href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" > <area coords="0,0,10000,10000" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=&creative=92501&camp=8117&link_code=dl1&path=subst/misc/amazon-cobrand-cc/v3/marketing-from-associates-step1.html/ref%3Db1_assoc_29" > </map>	STX completes core phase for OBC students SGT. TRINACE JOHNSON 6th ADA Public Affairs OBC students strategi-cally plan STX missions prior to moving out. It started out as a simple peacekeeping mission designed to help restore local order and keep populists and insurgents out. For many of the lieutenants, it was the first real look at how the Army runs on active duty. Ninety percent of them were fresh out of college and had no prior military experience. This recent Situational Training Exercise at McGregor Range for the core phase of the Officer Basic Course students here, like many exercises before, showed the students that when it comes to Army operations, they have to be prepared for anything. The aim for the STX according to Capt. Tim Lopsik, STX coordinator for AMD OBC, was to develop and assess OBC lieutenants’ leadership, teamwork and decision making skills using plausible military situations that may be encountered on current operations. He said that the STX serves as the capstone training management event for the students and culminates the lessons learned throughout OBC Core. Furthermore, he added it would allow them the opportunity to be evaluated as leaders in a field environment under conditions of physical and mental stress for the first time as officers; challenging their mental and physical abilities. Capt. Robert L. McCormick, OBC Branch Chief, Directorate of Training and Doctrine Leadership Division, said that for many of the students, this would be the last training that they will have prior to going into combat units and then into combat. “Many of these students will be deploying within six months,” McCormick said. He continued, “Some will go to the 101st [Infantry Division], Fort Bragg, [N.C.] and some will go with 35th Brigade to Korea.” He said what they pick up on the exercise would help them when they get to their units. Lopsik said that the exercise was designed to reinforce the importance of effective leadership and teamwork to accomplish the mission in a contemporary operational environment. The STX tasks evaluated the lieutenants’ leadership abilities as they applied to troop-leading procedures, convoy operations, negotiations, cordon and searches, raids, security patrols, tactical road marches, reaction to ambushes and indirect fire, vehicle dismount, injured personnel evacuation, how to run a tactical operation center and more. The OBC NCOIC, Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Marshall, said that with all the evaluations the students faced they also had to differentiate friendly forces from enemy, as well as friendly civilians from hostile. The Soldiers role playing as civilians on the battlefield presented themselves as “friendlies” only to later reveal themselves as “hostiles.” “You just never know what you’re going to run into,” Marshall said.