As the subject line states, Below is a video holiday greetings for Davenport,  IA

Video:

Aaron Arnold

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Command Sgt. Maj. John W. Troxell relinquished responsibility as I Corps command sergeant major to Command Sgt. Maj. James P. Norman III in a ceremony at the Carey Theater Sept. 3.

The change of responsibility, originally planned to be outdoors but relocated due to rain, was conducted in a traditional manner with the passing of the Corps colors, representing the loyalty of the unit's soldiers, from Command Sgt. Maj. Troxell to I Corps commander Lt. Gen. Robert Brown.

Brown then passed the colors to Command Sgt. Maj. Norman, signaling to the soldiers of I Corps that their loyalty now belongs to the new command sergeant major.

"We surveyed 100 soldiers on the post to describe Sgt. Maj. Troxell in one word," Brown said during his remarks. "The most frequent word used was 'inspirational.' The second was 'charismatic.'"

Troxell, a native of Davenport, Iowa, and a 31-year veteran in the Army, accomplished many things during his time at I Corps, including the issuance of a new book of standards, (commonly referred to as the "Blue Book") the administration of the Ready and Resilient program, and the institution of the Mangudai Warrior Challenge.

"My fondest memory of my time here at I Corps is the whole time here," Troxell said.

Troxell and his wife, Sandra, will travel to South Korea this fall when Troxell assumes duties as the senior enlisted adviser of U.S. Forces-Korea, headquartered in Yongsan Barracks in Seoul, South Korea.

The soldiers of I Corps welcome their new command sergeant major, but must also bid farewell to their former command sergeant major.

"We really lose a great team with Sgt. Maj. Troxell leaving," Brown said. "But we gain a great team in return."

Norman, a native of Compton, Calif., and a 32-year veteran in the Army, comes to I Corps from Fort Hood, Texas, where he recently served as the senior enlisted adviser to the commander of 1st Cavalry Division and also as the Fort Hood rear detachment command sergeant major.

"My wife, Jay, and I looked forward to moving back to the Pacific Northwest and we look forward to becoming part of the community," Norman said.

MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. - For most people, the thought of biking hundreds of miles through unfamiliar rugged territory is not only daunting, it's exhausting. For four McConnell Airmen, this is how they will spend their Saturday mornings for the next four weeks.

The Airmen are participating in the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. For the Air Force, the RAGBRAI gives Airmen a chance to showcase the service's fitness culture and recruit for enlisted and civilian positions in the Reserve, guard and active duty. When the McConnell Team crosses the starting line July 21, 2013, it will mark the 19th year the Air Force has participated in the event, which originated in 1973.

For Senior Master Sgt. Joseph Salomon, 931st Maintenance Squadron Fabrication Flight chief and RAGBRAI participant, the race is a labor of love. Salomon has been cycling for 12 years, and this is his second time participating as part of the Air Force cycling team for McConnell.

"[I began when] I was active duty in the Army in the late 1980s, and it continued when I joined the Reserve program [in San Antonio]. In 2003 I met up with some guys who were cycling," he said. "I was out riding one day and the team captain from there mentioned the Air Force Cycling team to me. "

During his first year on the cycling team, Salomon provided team support, which gave him exposure to the RAGBRAI. The following year, he rode with the team as a member. Despite a couple of medical setbacks in the years following, Salomon later rode later with the Scott Air Force Base, Ill., team, eventually ending up at McConnell, where he again established a cycling team. Like his previous teams, the McConnell team began through a mutual love of cycling.

"I met Tech. Sgt. Noel Heyer at a Christmas party when I got here in 2003," said Salomon. "He was excited and talked about getting a McConnell team started."

Heyer, a support section technician assigned to the 931st, said his love of cycling predates his military career.

"I got a bike when I was 4 or 5 years old, and before I even went outside, I took the training wheels off," he said. "I think my parents were surprised, but I rode it that very first day and I've pretty much been riding ever since."

Over the years, Heyer's hobby has led him all over the country. This is his first time to participate in the RAGBRAI.

In addition to individual cycling, the team, which also includes Tech. Sgts. Paul Shattuck, 931st MXS Hydraulics Section Chief and Christopher Peterson, 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron KC-135 Instrument and Flight Control Systems specialist, the team performs a long distance training ride each Saturday leading up to the event in July.

"We average 30 miles per day for a daily ride," said Salomon. "You have to average 100 to 175 miles per week so when you get to the RAGBRAI and you're doing 500 miles across Iowa over seven continuous days, it won't be an issue because your body will be conditioned."

The mileage and challenge of finishing the race is part of what drew in Shattuck, who has been cycling since the early 1980s.

"The biggest challenge for me will be the 100-mile day," he said. "I'm looking forward to the challenge."

The logistics of the actual event are also important to consider, said Salomon.

"A lot of people think, 'Oh, we'll stay in a hotel.' That's not how it is," he said. "You are going to break down your own camp and set it up, while also prepping for your daily ride."

The team is also 100% responsible for providing their uniforms, entry fees, food, equipment, and transportation.

Despite the physical demands and the fees associated with the competition, the team is more focused on the actual experience.

"I'm excited," said Heyer. "I'm proud to wear the uniform as it is, but to be able to wear the AF bicycling kit, I'm very excited and just very proud to do it."

The chance to showcase the Air Force's wingman culture also motivates the team.

"That's what we are all about when we are out there; helping people and showing people that the Air Force is really a bunch of great people," said Salomon. "I look forward to the camaraderie and being around the AF cycling team members from other bases, as well as interacting with all the people out there."

The RAGBRAI begins July 21, 2013, in Des Moines, Iowa. Since its inception in 1973, more than 275,650 cyclists have participated in the event.

For more information about the RAGBRAI, visit the official website at http://ragbrai.com/tag/ragbrai-2013/.

 

Warrior Games USMC Track and Field

U.S. Marines Corps Sgt. Rachel Brokaw with Wounded Warrior Battalion East,, throws a shot-put during the 2013 Warrior Games at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., on May 14, 2013. The Warrior Games is a Paralympic style competition to elevate wounded, ill and injured service members' abilities through athletic competition. The fourth annual Warrior Games will be held at the Olympic Training Center and Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 11-16. Athletes will have a chance to compete in swimming, track and field, volleyball, wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, cycling, shooting and archery. The Marine team will defend their championship title against the Army, Navy /Coast Guard, Air Force and SOCOM. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Sharon Kyle)

Soldiers take exam at 372nd Engineer Brigade's Best Warrior Competition
Spc. Gary L. Goins representing the 389th Engineer Battalion out of Davenport, Iowa, takes the written exam during the 372nd Engineer Brigade's Best Warrior Competition here on March 11. The written exam allows the soldiers to test their basic warrior task knowledge.

The project delivery team was able to achieve a number of benefits as the result of levee setback projects.

OMAHA, Neb. - A blend of public laws, government regulations and government processes doesn't likely conjure images of engineers engaged in roundtable discussions, drawing pictures on a whiteboard and bouncing creative out-of-the-box thinking strategies or groundbreaking ideas off one another.

But efforts executed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, have proven that perhaps it should. The district achieved groundbreaking results in less than one year working levee repair projects following historic flooding.

The Missouri River Flood of 2011 ravaged communities from Fort Peck, Mont., to St. Louis, during the summer of 2011. Two critical levee systems protecting communities, agricultural land and critical infrastructure breached, allowing the Mighty Missouri River to rush through in a torrent.

The primary threats were to major interstate access, thousands of acres of agricultural land, and the town of Hamburg, Iowa. The town was in jeopardy after a critical breach on Levee L-575 while corps engineers worked with the mayor and emergency management officials to construct a temporary levee to hold back floodwaters.

Another critical breach occurred on Levee L-550 just north of Highway 136 in Atchison County, Mo. In the end, five breaches occurred on the Missouri River Federal levee system.

Prior to the end of the flood event, the previous Northwestern Division Commander Gen. John McMahon tasked the Omaha District's Chief of Flood Risk and Floodplain Management, Randy Behm (and a team of engineers, real estate specialists, cost estimators, biologists, geographic information specialists and economists) with reviewing the floodplain system from Omaha south to Rulo, Neb., to determine whether there were constriction points. If so, he challenged the team to investigate whether levees could be set back at those points to reduce water surface elevations.

The team developed a Conceptual Levee Setback report to identify alternative floodplain management opportunities, including levee setbacks. Once the Conceptual Levee Setback report was developed, the concepts were taken to the field by the PL 84-99 manager and the Omaha Systems Restoration Team for execution in areas where levee damage was irreparable and the levees needed to be completely reconstructed. PL 84-99 is the law that supports emergency flood assistance and funding for the rehabilitation of levee systems (that are in the program) and have sustained damages a result of a flood event.

The Omaha District Systems Restoration Team was developed to carryout rehabilitation work following the flood. Early on, conceptual levee setback team members conducted analyses to come up with viable options for floodplain restoration.

Through thorough research of historic documents, the identification of trends and the incorporation of state-of-the-art computer modeling, the team identified alternative actions that could achieve a projected annual cost savings of $14 million, lower water surface elevations, reduced operation and maintenance costs and a less frequent need for emergency evacuation and cleanup costs in the future.

Additionally, the original conceptual setbacks proposed by the team aimed to achieve conservation benefits of up to 6,470 acres by reconnecting river hydrology and providing fish and wildlife with access to larger habitat areas.

Those familiar with Public Law 84-99, the law that provides strict guidelines for the management of funds associated with the repair of infrastructure following a disaster, may be scratching their heads asking "How could the team have accomplished all of this while simultaneously ensuring compliance with PL 84-99?"

Here's how:
1. They recognized the historic trends, potential for better results.
Behm, a 27-year corps veteran has been around long enough to learn a thing or two about flood events, their potential impact to river hydrology both in the short and long-term and ways in which other parts of the country have taken advantage of flood risk management techniques.

During the 2011 flood, McMahon was looking for ways to minimize flood impacts in the future ? examples of smart floodplain management strategies and tactics. He and the team offered their insight.

The Missouri River has a well-documented history of vacillation between wet and dry period extremes, requiring savvy engineering and proactive management techniques. Upon detailed analysis of flood events, patterns from previous floods became more salient, Behm said.

With support from the commanding general, the team also revisited recommendations from the 1994 Galloway Report, a report issued by the Interagency Floodplain Management Review Committee following the 1993 Missouri River Flood. The report recommended specific policy and programmatic changes to how floodplain management should be addressed.

Among other points, it envisioned reduced flood damages, minimized upheaval and emotional impact to families and communities, provided recommendations for mitigating economic impacts, and aimed to diminish the toll on communities and taxpayers in the aftermath of flooding on the Missouri River.

The team thoroughly reviewed it as well as internal documented accounts of the floods of 1952, 1956, 1962, 1984, 1993 and 2010.

One of the first noticeable patterns they identified by the team were significant flood damages that seemed to occur in cycles along identical reaches of levees when those structures were loaded with above average discharges.

"We noticed traditional problem areas where we had experienced breaches in the past," Behm said. "There were certain places in the river that consistently experienced high stages and high velocities due to constrictions in downstream areas of the channel."

About 13 locations between Omaha, Neb. and Council Bluffs, Iowa and Rulo, Neb., indicated significant channel constriction below 3,000 feet of conveyance width. Constrictions in conveyance areas result in increased river stages, greater velocities and more frequent levee loading during flooding, which can lead to levee failure, overtopping or breaching.

Those constricted areas behave like a dam, backing up water and limiting channel velocity and conveyance, Behm said.

Further analysis of levee system authorization documents turned up guidelines in the Flood Control Act of 1944 which indicated that levees between Iowa and Nebraska should be constructed to withstand discharges of about 250,000 cubic feet per second at Omaha and 295,000 cubic feet per second at Nebraska City with a minimum conveyance width of 3,000 feet from levee to levee or from levee to bluff.

One way to achieve those specifications was through the consideration of repairing the levee segments in a manner that set them back farther from the river than they were originally constructed. The basic idea of a levee setback is to relocate a segment of it from its current alignment closer to the banks of the river to a location farther away from the banks. A setback alignment would take advantage of better geotechnical conditions, opening up habitat potential, and an increase in flood conveyance.

2. They worked with, educated levee sponsors about the process.
An integral aspect of achieving success with the new approach to restoring the floodplain entailed educating levee sponsors and other stakeholders about taking advantage of floodplain management tactics. In the past many of these techniques had not been seriously considered for sake of expedience, however, the extensive damage caused by 2011 flood left everyone wanting to find a better way to reduce flood risk, said John Remus, chief of the Hydrologic Engineering Branch.

Education was key, said Kim Thomas, Chief of the Omaha District Emergency Operations Center and PL 84-99 program manager. Getting sponsors to view flood events in a broader, more long-term view helped the team gain acceptance of the idea.

"It took sitting down and talking face-to-face with the sponsors and key stakeholders to explain to them what we were trying to achieve by constructing a setback levee versus repairing the previous levee in place," said Thomas. "The levee setbacks under consideration were localized realignments of previously existing levees using a risk-based levee design."

In the case of Levees L-575, the two major setbacks accomplished did result in the complete reconstruction of sections of those levees due to the amount of damages sustained, said Thomas.

But, careful analysis of the costs and long-term benefits associated with reconstruction were taken into account as part of the decision-making process. PL 84-99 states that levees shall be repaired to their pre-flood conditions.

In this case, due to the tremendous amount of foundation damage, the geotechnical designers' best and only engineering solution was to relocate the levee to better foundations, thus resulting in a setback, Thomas said.

Cost estimates compared an inline repair to the cost of a setback. The estimates indicated it was cheaper to set back the levee.
Once he saw the numbers and proposals, Leo Ettleman, president of Responsible River Management and agricultural land owner behind L-575, said he quickly realized it was not only more cost-prohibitive to repair the levees in place than to set them back, it was the only ostensible engineering solution considering the amount of damage sustained.

Working through the PL 84-99 process with the corps was a learning experience for everyone involved, Ettleman added.

"All of these were massive projects that none of us had ever been through," he said. "This was a 500-year event and a tremendous amount of damage to personal and business property occurred. Watching everybody keep their emotions in check and get through the process was certainly encouraging."

"The levee sponsors really made this a priority," said Thomas. "They were obligated to take on quite a load to make these repairs in a timely manner. That meant relocating utilities, county roads and other major tasks. They worked diligently to get the work done."

3. They capitalized on the economic savings.
The old saying, "Show me the money" rang true once the team began its development of the Project Information Report, the document that is required of all PL 84-99 rehabilitation activities.

It served as the basis for justifying the construction of setback levees to the corps headquarters for approval. In multiple instances, side-by-side comparisons of cost estimates juxtaposing the cost of in-place repairs with setback alternatives indicated cost-benefit ratios that consistently favored setback alternatives.

These highly damaged reaches typically had deep scour holes near the levee toe and extensive seepage areas. "In some cases, setting the levees back from the scour and seepage areas was the best engineering solution," said Bryan Flere, levee safety program manager.

The levee sponsors, along with corps technical experts, leveraged relationships with the corps' Missouri River Recovery Program, counties, levee stakeholders, State of Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to cut the cost of borrow construction materials including sand deposits and dirt from conservation land owned by the Corps of Engineers and managed in partnership with the state and NRCS to construct the setback levee units.

"The major savings in using the corps' recovery lands as a borrow source was that in most cases the transportation distances were much shorter to the construction sites. In total, more than 3 million cubic yards were used with savings of an estimated $2 per yard," said Brad Thompson.

4. They used technology to their advantage.
The team made use of state-of-the-art industry standard river engineering software HEC-RAS, which stands for Hydrologic Engineering Center-River Analysis System.

When the corps was in the process of developing its National Levee Database, the Omaha District Levee Safety Program conducted an inventory and analysis of the district's current levee system, gathering critical data about the original construction design of levees, historical maintenance information and the status of levee conditions.

In 2009, the Flood Risk and Floodplain Management Section also completed a floodway model for FEMA to support the agency's update of their floodplain mapping information.

The team input information from both data sets into HEC-RAS and included Geospatial Information System overlays to analyze potential areas of concern along the river, said Behm.

Tony Krause, hydraulic engineer, said the combination of data sets and GIS information in the system made it easy to identify historic damage points and locations where levees appeared to be located too close to the river.

5. They remembered to be good environmental stewards.
Secondary benefits of the setback levees were the additional acres of land that were reconnected to the historic floodplain and wetlands created through borrow activities.

The corps has been working to mitigate habitats lost due to the development of the Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project, which was constructed from the 1940s through the 1970s and resulted in negative impacts to the ecosystem.

The conceptual setback levee projects identified 6,470 acres of land that could potentially be reconnected to the river. Actual on-the-ground repairs resulted in approximately 2,000 acres of reconnected flood plain and created an anticipated 500 acres of wetlands associated with borrow activities ? land that will help influence shallow water habitat benefits for the threatened and endangered pallid sturgeon and other fish and wildlife. A focus on fish and wildlife is one of the corps' eight congressionally authorized purposes for regulating operations within the Missouri River basin.

"It was good working with the [corps] because they were willing to incorporate innovative ideas that were going to benefit wildlife at the same time as improving the levee projects along the river," said Carl Priebe, wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Iowa DNR manages corps property that has been acquired for mitigation for the Missouri River Recovery Program.

Priebe said he looks forward to lower river stages and more fish and wildlife habitat during future flood events.

"Before there were just grass and trees in many of these places," said Priebe. As the river interacts with this newly connected land and wetlands, Priebe said he expects to see more diversification of various species of fish, mammals and birds taking advantage of the new landscape.

"It's public access land so anyone can come enjoy it and its going to be land that has a wealth of opportunity for outdoor pursuits whether it be hiking, bird-watching, hunting or photography. There are opportunities for all of those things now on that public land where there haven't been before."

Two large-scale levee setbacks, several miles each, were completed as a result of the team's efforts. Several smaller scale setback projects were also constructed. Total levee rehabilitation work totaled $160 million. Critical repair work was completed prior to the start of the 2012 runoff season, which began March 1, 2012. The majority of the remainder of repair work was completed in the fall of 2012 with a few final projects set for completion this spring.

"Our contractor, construction personnel and engineers executed this work in record time with no accidents and that's commendable," said Thomas. "All of our think tank construction and engineering folks were also right there providing great quality assurance and engineering oversight that helped move this rehab work along as efficiently as possible, within budget and ahead of schedule."

Other communities that have faced flooding issues in the past have also paid attention to the team's work. The State of California recently requested a copy of the final Conceptual Levee report.

The Conceptual Levee Setback team was recognized in 2012 as the Northwestern Division Innovative Project Delivery Team of the Year. Additionally, Behm received a national award, Flood Risk Manager of the Year.

The Omaha District Systems Restoration team won the corps' Outstanding Unit/Team Award for Specialized Services and Construction Contracting.

Story and photo by Sgt. Courtney Selig

Adviser team coordinates communications, operations in Land of the Light

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md.- With the number of soldiers decreasing overseas, the mission has shifted and welcomed a new type of team to ensure a seamless transition.

Team Bluetick, a Security Force Assistant Adviser Team from First Army Division East, and Occupational Coordination Center - Provincial Nuristan staff recently conducted a site survey of the Nuristan Provincial Capital, Parun.

During this visit, they assessed the current and planned infrastructure to determine the feasibility of co-locating Nuristan with the provincial headquarters in Parun.

Nuristan, known as the "Land of the Light," is treacherous with its sheer cliffs sheltered by the spurs of the Eastern Hindu Kush. Its terrain, comprised of nearly 99 percent mountains, leaves only the most minimal amount of flat land.

"Our mission is to train and advise our Afghanistan counterparts of Nuristan on how to coordinate both air and ground operations with all elements of the Afghanistan National Army, Afghanistan Border Police, Afghanistan National Police and their National Directorate of Security," said MAJ Lucas Morales, Team Operations and Communications Officer, First Army Division East, a native of Kellogg, Idaho.

Team Bluetick and other SFA ATs mentor and assist Afghan National Security Forces as they take the lead in conducting security operations. The SFA ATs are a key step in continuing efforts to improve ANSF capability and to help them assume responsibility for the security of Afghanistan.

"One of our significant challenges is assisting the OCC-P to overcome the significant geographical challenges of this province and improve their communications with the Provincial Capital of Parun," Morales said. All parties continue to explore options for a combined facility.

Morales said the relationship between Team Bluetick and OCC-P Nuristan is strong. He went on to say the OCC-P not only understands the SFA AT member's mission, but they welcome it since they have not had the assistance of an Advisor Team in the past.

"As with all good relationships, it helps both teams learn and expand to improve their capabilities," said Morales. "The biggest advantage is that the OCC-P wants to learn and wants to help their province and country."

The SFA ATs, teams of highly trained officers and noncommissioned officers, mentor and advise Afghan Army and Police units as they conduct security operations. SFA ATs began training in mid-January 2012 and deployed in Spring, 2012. A second iteration is planned this fall.

First Army Division East is responsible for the overall mission of mobilizing, training, validating, and deploying Reserve Component Soldiers around the globe and demobilizing them upon their return home. Last year, First Army Division East mobilized more than 20,000 Soldiers and demobilized almost 26,000.

Gunnery Sgt. Stephanie Borges, a Rock Island, Ill., native, walks the runway during the "Strut: the fashionable mom" fashion show during Fashion Week NYC, Sept. 10. Borges is the aviation supply chief for Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 49 and is the mother of four. The show featured ladies who are both business leaders and mothers.

Marine gunny walks in Fashion Week NYC show

Photo by Randall Clinton

Photo by Senior Master Sgt. Mike BattienSmall RSS IconSubscriptions Icon Subscribe To This Journalist

Air Force Cycling Team riders on RAGBRAI 2012

An unidentified member of the USAF Cycling Team makes a water stop in Shellsburg, Iowa, on day five of RAGBRAI 2012. The AF Cycling Team is made up with active duty, National Guard, Reserve and retired members. The 88-member team rode RAGBRAI 2012 and helped riders who were disabled and stopped along the way. RAGBRAI is The Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa; the largest and longest organized bicycle ride in the world. This year's week-long ride covered 471 miles-starting in Sioux City and ending in Clinton, Iowa. The AF Cycling team meets riders every day and spreads a positive message to each person they assist along the way.


Read more: http://www.dvidshub.net/image/635699/air-force-cycling-team-riders-ragbrai-2012#.UBk3zqBQQsZ#ixzz22IrzOH1Q

Army Sgt. John McSorley, counter IED trainer mentor with 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry Regiment prepares a simulated pressure plate IED for use on the Dismounted IED Visual Indicator Lane.

By Ian Lumley, Matthew Brady and William Fisher
174th Infantry Brigade Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Integration Cell

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- A major part of training service members for combat revolves around countering the insurgent's use of improvised explosive devices. IEDs remain the weapon of choice for terrorists, insurgents and criminal networks worldwide.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., serves as a mobilization training center for First Army Division East with the mission of preparing joint forces for military operations in Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and other active conflict areas around the world. A great deal of time and effort is devoted to training service members how to operate effectively in an IED environment.

"Before they go to an active area of operations, they need to know what to look for," said Army Sgt. John McSorley, 174th Infantry Brigade Counter-IED trainer mentor. "The DIVIL is a great way to expose troops to multiple scenarios and increase IED awareness overall."

The latest joint base training enabler, the DIVIL, or Dismounted IED Visual Indicator Lane, encompasses 15 independent IED training stations. Each station provides information concerning a specific type of IED and provides multiple examples of the IED as it may appear in an active IED environment. The intent is to expose service members to as many devices as possible to increase potential survivability, according to McSorley.

He went on to explained that training lanes have progressed from being a simple walk in the woods where an opposing force sets off training devices and simulates gunfire. During the last 10 years training enablers have increased in complexity and changed how service members train for deployment. Training enhancements such as the Virtual Battle Space Simulator is an example of how training has evolved to assist service members preparing for missions in an IED environment. The increased realism and reduced cost from less wear and tear on traditional field equipment has proved an effective enhancement at the joint base.

"Building the lane is an ongoing project," said McSorley. "Our goal is to continuously update the exhibits and tailor the site towards multiple areas of operations and keep current with the latest tactics being used by the enemy."

The DIVIL is a joint project between the 174th and installation entities. Soldiers assigned to the 174th used their skills and experience to build realistic representations of IEDs and 174th maintains project oversight. The Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security provided and maintains the terrain, while the Training Management Division assists with work orders.
In keeping with the Army Training Model 2015, which stresses the importance of hands on training, instructors take students out of the classroom and onto automated with fully-operational simulated IEDs active lanes. Students encounter hidden IEDs along the lane, which reinforces the training they receive.

Instead of a blast, the IEDs are connected to a siren or horn to simulate a blast.

"The DIVIL affords us a more productive learning environment, and constant lane improvements will keep training relevant," said McSorley. "We are working on putting together a marine-time station to demonstrate threats Coast Guard and Navy personnel may encounter."

The 174th IN Bde., trains service members from all branches of the military in preparation for deployments around the world. This newly redesigned lane allows them to train any unit for any area of conflict.

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