RAPID CITY, S.D., - On the second straight day of rain during
their annual training here, North Dakota's 191st Military Police Company drew
crew-served weapons for the convoy lane they were going to train on that day.
Since June 14, the Soldiers have been taken part in Golden Coyote, a training
exercise in South Dakota that has brought together nearly 2,200 service
members from different branches.
The Military Police convoy headed to the training site through the wet and
cold. When they arrived at their training site, everyone got out and assisted
in mounting .50 caliber machine guns on the top of their tactical vehicles
before being briefed by the officer and noncommissioned officer in charge,
who detailed scenarios the Soldiers might encounter and how to handle each.
After hearing the mission brief and practicing battle drills, the Soldiers
struck out to begin the day's hands-on training.
A short way down the road, the convoy got "hit" by a simulated improvised
explosive device, resulting in two simulated injuries. The Soldiers quickly
reacted according to how they were trained and were able to get the two
"injured" Soldiers to safety.
Down the road, the training continued when the convoy encountered simulated
small-arms fire, which they handled with ease. The next and final stop was a
town to which they were sent to deliver medicine. The convoy ran into some
confused citizens and a couple of men with weapons, but the calm and
collected military police managed to deliver the medicine without casualties
among themselves or the townspeople.
"It was good initial training for new Soldiers to the Company," said 1st Lt.
Kristopher P. Elijah, who commands the unit.
The training served as a good refresher course for those who have previously
deployed, while helping new Soldiers understand potential hazards and how to
react to them in a combat situation.
Most Soldiers agreed the most interesting part of it all wasn't the gunfire
or the roadside bomb explosion, but rather what they saw coming back from the
training: wild donkeys coming up to the vehicles and eating out of people's
hands. Needless to say, the donkeys got more attention than the 191st
Military Police Company did driving down the same road.
The South Dakota National Guard is hosting its 26th annual Golden Coyote
training exercise in the southern Black Hills June 14-26, providing relevant
training opportunities in support of overseas contingency operations and
homeland defense. Local residents receive numerous benefits from the many
engineering projects also being conducted during the training exercise.
Engineering units transport timber cut in remote areas to those who can use
it as firewood, identify hazardous wilderness areas and make them safe for
public use, and resurface local roadways that have fallen into disrepair.
Missions for the 2010 Golden Coyote training exercise are conducted
throughout the Black Hills of South Dakota and the surrounding area, both in
local urban areas and remote wilderness sites.