2-504th Infantry Attends Jungle
Operations Training Course
by Sergeant Dave McNally
82nd Airborne Division
Public Affairs Office
Originally
published in the "The Paraglide"
Fort Bragg Newspaper, February 7, 1985
FORT SHERMAN, Panama - - Troopers
from the 2nd Battalion, 504th Infantry (Airborne) recently jumped into
Panama to begin jungle training.
During the early morning of January
25, 1985, over 600 paratroopers loaded onto a C-141 "Starlifter"
aircraft for the five and a half hour flight to the Panamanian drop zone.
The battalion�s adjutant, Captain
Kurt Lyman, described the operation as, "a prelude to Exercise Kindle
Liberty �85", a joint-service training exercise in Panama.
"The Jungle Operations Training
Course (JOTC) here at Fort Sherman," Lyman said, "is two weeks
of intensive jungle-warfare training designed to aid the soldier on the
upcoming exercise."
Sharp Contrast
The tropical climate of the jungle
contrasted sharply with Fort Bragg�s recent cold spell. According to JOTC
instructors, the soldiers will not be acclimatized until it�s time to return
to Fort Bragg. For the first three weeks in the jungle, it is necessary
to down nine to 14 quarts of water per day.
Training at JOTC is varied and,
to many soldiers, exciting. Airborne troopers learned to become "waterborne,"
and how to survive and fight in a jungle environment.
Finest in the World
"JOTC trains our troopers
to survive where the 82nd Airborne Division may have to fight someday,"
said Colonel Henry H. Shelton, 1st Brigade commander. "This type of
training builds confidence in our junior soldiers, the kind of confidence
that make our troopers the finest in the world."
That confidence is built through
tough training at JOTC. Training includes "Green Hell," a challenging
and dangerous obstacle course. Troopers learn how to rig a rubber raft
for a combat operation and how to navigate in the jungles.
Most Dangerous
Soldiers learned about what to
eat in a survival situation because the jungle is full of poisonous and
dangerous plants and creatures. Instructors reminded paratroopers that
the most dangerous thing in the jungle is the U.S. Soldier. "He�s
the boss. He controls it," instructors stress.
After graduation from JOTC, the
soldiers will be recognized as "Jungle Experts."
Task Force 2-504 will remain at
Fort Sherman for two weeks.
The battalion�s redeployment to
Fort Bragg is set for mid-February, after Exercise Kindle Liberty �85.
The rationale for attending the
jungle warfare course was best summed up by a serious, anonymous voice
in a group of waiting soldiers: "This is the best training we�ve had
in a long time!"
©1997 All Rights Reserved.
|