An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Nov. 6, 2006

Forrest City, Brinkley Soldiers Raid Hospital, Save 'Hostages'

By Sgt. Rick Fahr 119th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Community watches the Guard in action during Saturday exercise

BRINKLEY - Sights and sounds of warfare invaded the peaceful Delta afternoon Saturday, Nov. 4, as Arkansas Army National Guard troops conducted a simulated raid and hostage recovery at an abandoned hospital.

“The goal of our training was to work on urban environment war fighting tactics and better prepare us for real missions,” 1st Lt. Joseph Foley explained after the exercise, which excited the gathered crowd with a number of loud concussions from simulated explosions and hundreds of shots fired from various small arms.

Including troops from Brinkley and Forrest City, the exercise began at the Guard armory on the east side of town. Troops marched two miles to the hospital and then split into two teams. While one group secured the perimeter, another team prepared to attack.

When the “go” signal came, the assault team lobbed smoke grenades into the facility's courtyard and kicked in the back door.

“As they entered the building, it was fast and furious,” said Sgt. 1st Class Paul Davis, who served as a member of the opposition force.

Booby traps had been set at several locations, and enemy troops had positioned themselves throughout the facility.

The Guardsmen's mission was to clear each room and find two hostages. As they worked their way through the building, gunfire was intense. The assault team fought its way to the final objective, the hostages, and compelled the enemy troops to surrender.

The exercise lasted about 10 minutes and ended with four enemy troops killed. The exercise also resulted in one of the friendly forces killed as well. Fortunately, training scenarios like these offer a chance to stand back up and actually learn from the experience which will lower the odds of losses during real world conflicts.

Foley said the training a success.

“They moved with a vengeance inside the building, which is very important. The quicker you move, the less time you give the enemies to fix your position,” he said. “All the muzzle awareness was good, and moving through an area was good. We'll continue to train and hopefully the lessons learned from this will better enhance our training.”

Dozens of area residents observed the exercise, and Brinkley Mayor Billy Clay – who had been a member of the Brinkley Guard unit years ago – marveled at the evolution of Guard training.

“It's hard to comprehend that we have this type of training right here locally,” he commented. “It makes you proud to be a citizen of the United States and also proud to have a Guard unit … here in Brinkley. It's amazing how things have progressed.”

Clay said that the Guard units serve many roles in the communities they serve.

“We recognize the economic impact it has on our community. It goes back to the Minuteman concept, and that's what we have,” he noted. “They are available locally if the governor calls them out for natural disasters, and we've seen times the unit has been used for periods outside this type of war games. It makes me proud to come out and see the progress that has been made over the years with your training.”

Foley said public training exercises help people understand military operations such as those ongoing in Iraq.

"The reason we bring the public out is to give them a better picture of what their fathers, sons, brothers and cousins are doing,” he noted.

Davis added that the troops' training will continue long after the gunfire stopped.

“We'll go over what happened and probably come back to do a slow walk through to identify what we can do better next time,” he said.

The troops involved are part of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry, 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The unit returned from a yearlong deployment to Iraq last spring.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...