More than 130 Soldiers from the 45th Sustainment Brigade participated in a Joint Convoy Live Fire exercise with the Marines that pulled together all of their tactical training skills they have honed since arriving at Pohakualoa Training Area on the Big Island at the end of April.

The troops had to successfully suppress enemy fire, react to roadside bombs, pull security while repairing a flat tire on a vehicle, and react to simulated casualties with basic combat lifesaver skills among other tasks. The simulated mission was based on a situation where supplies needed to be transported and dropped off at another post in a hostile, wartime environment.

The training was conducted with live ammunition which made it even more realistic for the Soldiers.

"Live ammunition definitely adds another element," said 2nd Lt. Michael Leffer of the 45th Sust. Bde. and convoy commander for the first mission. "People are more switched on; it's the most realistic training we can do and you can't substitute that in my opinion."

"The Live Fire Exercise practice forces leaders and Soldiers to react in the moment and make decisions," said Lt. Col. Don Fagnan, Battalion Commander for the 45th Sust. Bde. "That's when the learning curve shoots up the most."

"It definitely tested me in terms of my leadership ability, and my patience and willingness to trust my Soldiers," said Leffer. "I learned a lot about myself and my unit as a whole."

The exercise brought together three weeks of tactical training Soldiers received while on the Big Island. The entire process simulated a potential deployment and included everything from movement coordination and transport of vehicles, to setting up a tactical operations post for a week. Soldiers practiced a variety of different skills, from mastering various weapons systems, to the proper application of camouflage paint to their faces.

"The world is unpredictable; we never know when we are going to get a phone call. Whether it is for humanitarian assistance, or crisis response, this training sets the conditions for a lot of different things," said Fagnan. "We are Sustainers, but if we are asked to deploy, we still have to provide force protection. So spending some time on the force protection side instead of just the technical skills is maintaining that balance."

The joint aspect of the training was also significant.

"The training gave us a chance to coordinate with the Marines and integrate some of their resources and assets they have out here," said Fagnan.

A civilian Emergency Medical Evacuation Team helped the Soldiers practice loading a casualty onto a helicopter to be evacuated for emergency care at the end of the convoy. The casualties were physically transported back to Forward Operating Base Koa, were they were unloaded and transported to the first aid tent for further medical care from the 45th medical team.

"I think it's important for any Soldier to go through this training," said Spc. Jordan Engeman, of the 45th Sust. Bde. "If you deploy, you could be thrown on a convoy any time. If you don't have this training you may not know how to react. When people get hurt you need to know what to do next."

For some, the exercise was a test of their individual technical expertise as well. The three iterations tested similar tasks and drills, but varied slightly each time to keep Soldiers and leaders on their feet.

"We built a scenario that gave us a lot of flexibility, so we didn't have many constraints," said Fagnan. "We could tailor it to the experience and the level of proficiency of each unit."

The urgency and time constraints of the exercise emphasized the Solider's team building skills and cohesion. They had to work together to solve many of the scenarios that were presented.

"They threw in a tire change situation at the last moment," said Engeman. "That increased our time in the fire zone, but we still managed to get it done within five minutes, which I thought was really great teamwork."

The thee-week exercise was built to be long and intensive for the Soldiers, with many late nights and early mornings. Going through the experience was something that helped the Soldiers better understand themselves and what they are capable of.

"To physically go through the live fire really helped me as a Soldier," said Engeman. "It really helped me understand that communication is the key. If we lose communication, our whole convoy is going to go down."

"The biggest thing I wanted my Soldiers to take away from the exercise is confidence in themselves, their leaders, and the team," said Fagnan. "Our Soldiers and leaders rose to the occasion, and I couldn't be more proud of them."