Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Post
April 12, 2008
Pg. B1
From Rockville to Iraq, With a Stop in N.J., Soldiers Gear Up for Combat
By Christian Davenport, Washington Post Staff Writer
FORT DIX, N.J. -- When Capt. Tad Marinelli took command of the Army Reserve's 352nd Military Police Company last year, his first sergeant asked him what he had planned for the unit.
"To get it ready to go to war," Marinelli responded.
The first sergeant laughed. "Not this unit."
The 352nd, based in Rockville, had about 60 soldiers on the rolls, less than half its assigned strength, and not all of them would show up regularly. Equipment was old, derelict or missing. It didn't take long for Marinelli, of Silver Spring, to realize that the 352nd had been used as what he called a "donor unit," giving its soldiers and supplies to others mobilizing for war.
Then a month later, he got the orders: The 352nd was going to Iraq. Since then, the unit has undergone a metamorphosis from a skeleton crew to a combat-ready company that illustrates how far some National Guard and Reserve units have to go to get ready for war.
Repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan have left many units without a full roster of soldiers eligible to deploy, so military officials are forced to transfer manpower from other units, often from across the country. The process, known as "cross-leveling," has some officials worried that units cobbled together shortly before deploying won't perform as well in combat as those whose soldiers have trained together for years.
A report released this year by a congressional commission found that "cross-leveling of personnel disrupts both of the units involved and degrades readiness, morale, and retention." In a statement last year, retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Anthony L. Punaro, who served as chairman of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves, criticized the process, saying it "destroys the unit cohesion that is at the heart of an effective fighting force, and commanders know that any reduction in unit cohesion can result in greater risk of casualties. 'Pickup' teams belong on sandlots, not battlefields."
Soldiers fight for one another, the thinking goes: The stronger the bonds between them, the better they will perform. "One of the institutional lessons of Vietnam was that the system of individual replacement was a disaster, and it was a disaster specifically because it undercut efforts by commanders to develop that sense of unity and teamwork," said Andrew J. Bacevich, a retired Army colonel who is a professor of international relations at Boston University.
To get up to strength, the 352nd required an infusion of 93 soldiers from other units. The job of finding them fell to Joseph Plezia, the personnel readiness division chief of the 99th Regional Support Command in Pennsylvania, and his staff. They spent hours poring over a database of every reserve soldier in the mid-Atlantic region. If soldiers had deployed since Sept. 11, 2001, they were not eligible to go with the 352nd unless they volunteered. And even though many did, they had to have the right rank and military occupational specialty and pass a physical.
Finding the 93 soldiers took six months.
Most came from the 443rd Military Police Company, based in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Officials also had to pluck soldiers from Virginia, New Jersey and Ohio.
Marinelli was grateful that a large block of the 443rd was merging into his unit, but he had no idea how they would all get along.
An uncomfortable silence pervaded the reserve center the first time the newly formed 352nd assembled, he said. To make sure they got to know one another, Marinelli scrapped the existing squads and platoons and built new ones that mixed everyone together. In addition to preparing for war, platoon sergeants acted like social hosts and forced soldiers to mix together during meals. They assigned soldiers who were strangers before the deployment to take coffee breaks together. They even sat their platoons down to play get-to-know-you games like those often played at summer camp. Not only did the soldiers have to take turns introducing themselves and saying where they're from, they had to name a pet peeve. The result, Marinelli said, were more than a few lighthearted moments that broke the ice and allowed the soldiers to began to see one another as humans.
To his relief, the soldiers jelled almost immediately. And soon the unit's equipment was upgraded, including new M4 rifles. But as Marinelli said: "It's not supposed to work this way."
The 352nd, which is expected to arrive in Iraq soon, first spent about two months at Fort Dix preparing for the tour. The soldiers lived together in barracks, learned how to spot roadside bombs and how to cover one another under fire, exercises that commanders say not only make the training seem real, but also cement the bonds among the soldiers. They even went through a simulator that mimics a Humvee rolling over. Nothing forges bonds faster than hanging upside down with a fellow soldier, they said.
These days, so many of the units that come to Fort Dix have such a large number of replacements that building teamwork has become a key component of pre-deployment training, said Lt. Col. Joseph Smith, executive officer of the unit that oversees the training.
"This is where that team is developed," he said.
In interviews, many of the 352nd's soldiers said the spirit of comradeship quickly spread through the ranks.
"That first week we had to feel each other's vibe," said Sgt. Arturo Rovira of Centreville. "We clicked right away. We all know that wherever we come from, we all train the same."
Many of those transferred into the 352nd had no choice; they were "voluntold," as some of them said. Others, such as Spec. Davy Black, volunteered for Iraq. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would be mobilized, so he figured "I better choose who I go with."
Black, who comes from Clarion, Pa., a 4 1/2 -hour drive from Rockville, said he has melded with his new unit. "I feel like one of them," he said. "I don't get treated any differently."
The sense of unity that has sprouted among the soldiers has inspired Marinelli, who teared up at the unit's deployment ceremony at the Rockville Civic Center last month.
"I am proud of you today," he told his soldiers, according to news reports. "I am proud to be part of this unit, and afterwards I will have more reason to be proud of you."
April 12, 2008
Pg. B1
From Rockville to Iraq, With a Stop in N.J., Soldiers Gear Up for Combat
By Christian Davenport, Washington Post Staff Writer
FORT DIX, N.J. -- When Capt. Tad Marinelli took command of the Army Reserve's 352nd Military Police Company last year, his first sergeant asked him what he had planned for the unit.
"To get it ready to go to war," Marinelli responded.
The first sergeant laughed. "Not this unit."
The 352nd, based in Rockville, had about 60 soldiers on the rolls, less than half its assigned strength, and not all of them would show up regularly. Equipment was old, derelict or missing. It didn't take long for Marinelli, of Silver Spring, to realize that the 352nd had been used as what he called a "donor unit," giving its soldiers and supplies to others mobilizing for war.
Then a month later, he got the orders: The 352nd was going to Iraq. Since then, the unit has undergone a metamorphosis from a skeleton crew to a combat-ready company that illustrates how far some National Guard and Reserve units have to go to get ready for war.
Repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan have left many units without a full roster of soldiers eligible to deploy, so military officials are forced to transfer manpower from other units, often from across the country. The process, known as "cross-leveling," has some officials worried that units cobbled together shortly before deploying won't perform as well in combat as those whose soldiers have trained together for years.
A report released this year by a congressional commission found that "cross-leveling of personnel disrupts both of the units involved and degrades readiness, morale, and retention." In a statement last year, retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Anthony L. Punaro, who served as chairman of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves, criticized the process, saying it "destroys the unit cohesion that is at the heart of an effective fighting force, and commanders know that any reduction in unit cohesion can result in greater risk of casualties. 'Pickup' teams belong on sandlots, not battlefields."
Soldiers fight for one another, the thinking goes: The stronger the bonds between them, the better they will perform. "One of the institutional lessons of Vietnam was that the system of individual replacement was a disaster, and it was a disaster specifically because it undercut efforts by commanders to develop that sense of unity and teamwork," said Andrew J. Bacevich, a retired Army colonel who is a professor of international relations at Boston University.
To get up to strength, the 352nd required an infusion of 93 soldiers from other units. The job of finding them fell to Joseph Plezia, the personnel readiness division chief of the 99th Regional Support Command in Pennsylvania, and his staff. They spent hours poring over a database of every reserve soldier in the mid-Atlantic region. If soldiers had deployed since Sept. 11, 2001, they were not eligible to go with the 352nd unless they volunteered. And even though many did, they had to have the right rank and military occupational specialty and pass a physical.
Finding the 93 soldiers took six months.
Most came from the 443rd Military Police Company, based in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Officials also had to pluck soldiers from Virginia, New Jersey and Ohio.
Marinelli was grateful that a large block of the 443rd was merging into his unit, but he had no idea how they would all get along.
An uncomfortable silence pervaded the reserve center the first time the newly formed 352nd assembled, he said. To make sure they got to know one another, Marinelli scrapped the existing squads and platoons and built new ones that mixed everyone together. In addition to preparing for war, platoon sergeants acted like social hosts and forced soldiers to mix together during meals. They assigned soldiers who were strangers before the deployment to take coffee breaks together. They even sat their platoons down to play get-to-know-you games like those often played at summer camp. Not only did the soldiers have to take turns introducing themselves and saying where they're from, they had to name a pet peeve. The result, Marinelli said, were more than a few lighthearted moments that broke the ice and allowed the soldiers to began to see one another as humans.
To his relief, the soldiers jelled almost immediately. And soon the unit's equipment was upgraded, including new M4 rifles. But as Marinelli said: "It's not supposed to work this way."
The 352nd, which is expected to arrive in Iraq soon, first spent about two months at Fort Dix preparing for the tour. The soldiers lived together in barracks, learned how to spot roadside bombs and how to cover one another under fire, exercises that commanders say not only make the training seem real, but also cement the bonds among the soldiers. They even went through a simulator that mimics a Humvee rolling over. Nothing forges bonds faster than hanging upside down with a fellow soldier, they said.
These days, so many of the units that come to Fort Dix have such a large number of replacements that building teamwork has become a key component of pre-deployment training, said Lt. Col. Joseph Smith, executive officer of the unit that oversees the training.
"This is where that team is developed," he said.
In interviews, many of the 352nd's soldiers said the spirit of comradeship quickly spread through the ranks.
"That first week we had to feel each other's vibe," said Sgt. Arturo Rovira of Centreville. "We clicked right away. We all know that wherever we come from, we all train the same."
Many of those transferred into the 352nd had no choice; they were "voluntold," as some of them said. Others, such as Spec. Davy Black, volunteered for Iraq. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would be mobilized, so he figured "I better choose who I go with."
Black, who comes from Clarion, Pa., a 4 1/2 -hour drive from Rockville, said he has melded with his new unit. "I feel like one of them," he said. "I don't get treated any differently."
The sense of unity that has sprouted among the soldiers has inspired Marinelli, who teared up at the unit's deployment ceremony at the Rockville Civic Center last month.
"I am proud of you today," he told his soldiers, according to news reports. "I am proud to be part of this unit, and afterwards I will have more reason to be proud of you."