Dugway Proving Ground may not be a war-torn battlefield, but it’s similar to Afghanistan in a variety of other ways, which make it ideal for training troops.
Troops from the North Carolina-based 7th Special Forces descended upon Dugway earlier this month to complete a series of training exercises that will help them be ready for deployment later this year or early next.
“Dugway Proving Ground is a fantastic place for us to train,” said battalion commander Col. Jim Miller. “The terrain, the mountains, the altitude, and changes in the weather are all similar to Afghanistan.”
The Special Forces training focused on partnering with allied forces to route out insurgents, build infrastructure and provide medical aid to Afghan civilians.
“We work to advise and assist foreign-nation forces,” Miller said. “We partner, train and communicate with them.”
Although each Special Forces soldier has a specialty — ranging from communications, weapons, medical, or operations — each is cross-trained in other fields as well.
“They are multifaceted, multi-trained individuals,” Miller said of his troops. “They work as a team, training each other as well as the forces we may be allied with.”
Special Forces operate in 12-man teams.
“We can’t take on another force in combat,” Miller said. “Twelve guys with 12 guns won’t make much of a difference.”
Instead, partnering is key.
“The success of our force is dependent upon the success of the allied force,” Miller said.
Beyond the intensive training to shoot a gun or treat wounds, the soldiers also receive language training and learn about the cultural protocol.
“This helps them imbed into their partner forces,” Miller said.
One of the exercises completed by troops Tuesday involved patrolling a remote roadway in humvees and responding to possible improvised roadside explosives (IEDs).
“They will negotiate this lane and react to up to four IEDs,” said Captain Edward “Judd” Sanford, assistant operations officer. “The IEDs used are very much Hollywood. You see them and hear them, but nothing more.”
As the armed patrol crawled along the desolate Dugway road, an IED struck the first vehicle in a convoy of three as it rounded a bend. Immediately the remaining vehicles established a security perimeter, while a detachment commander assessed casualties with a medic. If a medic had been killed in the bombing, all the other troops are cross-trained to take on the role. They have to decide if it’s safe to move the vehicle and what other risks are present.
In this case, the team tethered the damaged vehicle to another operable vehicle and towed it away from the bomb site, then sent up purple smoke to signify the need for a medical evacuation.
“Typically, when an IED goes off there could be others in the area so they try to disperse as quickly as possible,” Sanford said. “IEDs can be planted everywhere. They are our biggest threat. That is why we put so much emphasis into this training. This exercise will save lives.”
Later on, a different team of soldiers found themselves transversing Granite Mountain, a landmark on Dugway’s western border. The goal was to seek out enemy fortifications and devise a plan to overtake them with minimal harm brought to the enemies and noncombatants like women and children.
Little did they know that just over the mountain a group of Taliban were armed, waiting for their arrival at a heavily guarded compound.
The Taliban are military-contracted role players who take their roles seriously. They are decked out in traditional garb and whispering among each other in their traditional tongue. Their RPGs and AK-47s are loaded with plastic-tipped paint-filled rounds.
“It’s designed to be as realistic as possible,” Sanford said.
Once the Special Forces team spots the Taliban, they will assess the situation from a distance, watching for a time to see if women and children are in the vicinity and to see how heavily armed the men are. They will take notes and snap photos to present to their commander, who will devise a plan of attack.
“They don’t want to just come in and start dropping bombs,” Miller said. “They want to coax the leader out on his own or catch him when he’s out using the bathroom.”
The compound is designed to be strikingly similar to villages troops have seen in Afghanistan. The cinderblock walls are decorated with coiled barb wire. Some dilapidated buildings within the walls have access to underground tunnels. Masked men stand at the front gate, while others scan the area from a elevated lookout. The landscape of the compound is rocky with rubble and clutter, which can present challenges for the team.
“It’s a lot different than going out on a flat range and shooting targets,” Miller said.
In a more central area of Dugway, other teams are working a “medcap” program, or Medical Civil Action, at a village previously seized and stripped of Taliban forces.
“It’s a program where we provide medical services to rural areas where there would otherwise not be medical services,” Sanford said.
Civilians are searched, screened and then allowed to see an Afghan doctor, who is advised by a Special Forces medic. Some are looking for medications for their animals or family members. Others are requiring personal medical attention or a have questions about the ongoing situations around them and the influence of the American forces. Many patients are sent away with hygiene and medical kits provided by the Red Cross or other donating agencies.
“This is probably one of the most important missions that we do,” Sanford said, because it prepares the people to function on their own in the future. He added that the value of the operation becomes apparent in the real world.
“You can sometimes see lines of 500 folks who crossed dangerous terrain to get vaccinations for their goats,” Miller said. “They might not have clothes, but they’ll be OK if they get those vaccinations.”
The perimeter of the medcap is secured by humvees and soldiers who are constantly scanning the horizon for any sign of the enemy.
“Enemies would capitalize on seizing this area and stopping what we are doing to keep their control,” Sanford said.
The lessons learned by these Special Forces troops at Dugway and other military bases across the country have helped significantly in the war on terror, according to military officials.
“They will take the lessons learned here today and apply them to Afghanistan,” Sanford said. “Each time Special Forces returns to Afghanistan we begin to see improvements.”
Jamie Belnap: jamieb@tooeletranscript.com
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