Friends and Family of the Washington Artillery,

In January the mobilization station training focus was on equipment validation and Soldier Individual Warrior Training Tasks (WTT). We had to validate each piece of equipment to ensure its function ability and dependability. We also re-enforced Soldier tasks that would be essential in combat such as first aid, marksmanship, radio communications, navigation, etc.

February has been the “meat” of our mobilization station training. We applied these individual Warrior Training Tasks into collective battle drills or team training. We have really been focused on visualizing the battle field through our eyes and the eyes of the insurgents. It is amazing what you see when you utilize that concept of battlefield visualization then apply the corrective action to the way in which you operate tactically. It makes you strip out patterns established by your units that can be exploited by the insurgents. One example would be exiting the base at the same time on each patrol or always exiting or entering the Forward Operating Base (FOB) in the same manner, time or configuration. Poor patrol discipline and planning can make you vulnerable to attack.

Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) has been the weapon of choice for the insurgency in Iraq. We have spent a lot of time on defeating this threat. Much of our training this month has been on effective Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) to counter this threat. The Army and Marine Corps have done an outstanding job of leveraging electronic countermeasures to defeat the IED threat. This technology has been utilized by the Navy for years where they apparently had many applications. Despite these great electronic devices, the preponderance of IEDs are found by well trained, vigilant and observant Soldiers. Most of our training focused on this aspect of detection. We learned how to recognize trends and tell-tale signs of potential threats. This was a lot of fun for our Soldiers as they became more and more confident with each pre-detonation discovery.

Super Bowl Sunday was a great day for the Soldiers of the Washington Artillery. We completed training about 1300 hours with a mandatory training pause and began the Super Bowl festivities. There were more bar-b-que pits and crawfish bowling pots going than I would have ever imagined. Barreca’s, a local restaurant in New Orleans, sent up enough jambalaya and alligator sausage to feed the entire battalion. This was supplemented by crawfish, hamburgers hotdogs, chips, soft drinks and king cakes. The Soldiers were jubilant and stunned when the Saints won the game. Many of them had waited an entire lifetime to witness a Saints Super Bowl victory. Several of the Soldiers broke out in an impromptu “second-line” around the barracks immediately after the game. Their excitement carried over into the proceeding week of truck gunnery. Thank goodness the Saints won. I cannot imagine how bad training would have been following a Super Bowl loss.

On Valentines weekend, we received about four inches of snow. It was a funny thing to watch our Soldiers as they tried to maintain their war fighting focus despite the urge to act like children and play in the snow. Their will power did not last long. In no time at all, snowball fights erupted throughout the area. Snowmen were popping up all over Camp Shelby. All of them had unusual themes such as gnomes, Soldiers and tanks. There were several traditional snowmen except for the use of spent bullet casing eyeballs and helmets on their heads. Nothing is more festive than a snowman in a 50 caliber machine gun turret. This was also the final weekend of the Mardi Gras season whose end could not have arrived soon enough. We were absolutely overwhelmed with King Cakes. Haydel’s Bakery of New Orleans donated a pallet of them. They were very tasty and did not last long. Between them and those being sent from home, there was always a King Cake sitting around ready to be eaten. Most of us had to increase our physical training regimes in order to not gain weight.

The Battalion completed its Culminating Training Event (CTE) with outstanding results. The CTE consisted of multiple scenarios that replicated the type of missions we will encounter in Iraq. The focus for the batteries was on battle drills; specifically reacting to IEDs, small arms fire and indirect fire. These scenarios were replicated in both rural and urban environments. The Battalion Headquarters focused on battle tracking, collection and development of enemy intelligence and command and control of units. According to the Observer, Controller, Trainers (OCTs); the Washington Artillery set the standard for excellence. Many of the other brigade units came over to our command post to observe how we did business. We have a great team that works well together.

A boss-lift and media day was also conducted during the CTE. Employers from all over south-central Louisiana came to view their Soldiers training. There was a large contingent of local media that accompanied them. The employers and media were able to witness B/141 as they convoyed through an Iraqi village and were hit by two IEDs and small arms fire. The village had actual Iraqi role players and insurgents. Bravo Battery reacted to the complex attack and killed the enemy without any collateral damage. The employers and press were startled by the explosions and reports of the automatic weapons. After the battle, they interviewed several of our Soldiers and were treated to a lunch consisting of authentic gumbo cooked by volunteers from Louisiana. I was told that Fox Channel 8 broadcast the event on the local news.

As the month of February fades, the Soldiers are focusing on going on pass and seeing their family and friends for the first time in two months. However, before they can depart on pass there was make-up training for those Soldiers who missed events due to illness of scheduling conflicts. We also had some training that had to be rescheduled as a result of snow and ice. Speaking of snow, we had another dose of snow as we were practicing for the Casing of the Colors and Pass in Review on Tiger Day. It snowed heavily for about two hours. What happened to global warming?

We picked up approximately 50 volunteer Soldiers from just about every state in the United States. They were eager to join the battalion and I look forward to working with them. Morale remains high despite the high Operations Tempo (OPTEMPO) and lousy weather. Our new website is coming on line and I encourage all of you to visit it at www.NewOrleansWashingtonArtillery.com It is still in the construction phase and will be changing weekly.

Try Us!
LTC Champagne
1-141 Field Artillery Battalion
Commanding